Running for the Internal Security or Defence Ministry
His own stated targets: on 14 July 2026 he told TheMarker he wanted to be internal security minister. At the ynet security conference on 27 July he said he expected to become defence minister if the Democrats won 15 seats.
Who they are
Yair Golan is a retired major general who reached deputy chief of staff of the IDF and now leads The Democrats. He was born in Rishon LeZion in 1962. His father, Gershon Goldner, fled Nazi Germany in 1935 and served as a colonel in the IDF. Golan headed a branch council in the HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed youth movement, passed the pilots’ course tests but volunteered for the paratroopers instead, following his brother.
He fought in the First Lebanon War as an officer cadet and led the paratroopers’ anti-tank company in south Lebanon. In 1997 he was wounded in a clash with a Hezbollah squad near the Sujud outpost and kept commanding the fight. He led the Nahal Brigade through Operation Defensive Shield, and as head of Northern Command decided in 2013 to start admitting wounded from the Syrian civil war. He read political science at Tel Aviv University and took a public administration master’s at Harvard.
He helped found Ehud Barak’s Israel Democratic party in 2019 and reached the Knesset with the Democratic Camp. On the morning of 7 October 2023 he drove alone in his own car to the Nova festival, pulling out young people who texted him their locations. He won the Labour leadership in May 2024 with 95 per cent of the vote and signed the merger with Meretz that created The Democrats a month later.
Positions and record
Democracy: In a November 2025 interview, he called for a constitution, a two-term limit for prime ministers and more powers for local government.
Security: At the ynet security conference on 27 July 2026, he called for separation from the Palestinians, opposed annexation and proposed evacuating illegal outposts and restoring law enforcement in the West Bank.
Economy: In his Meretz leadership statement, he called for a welfare state and a fairer distribution of wealth. He also supported bringing Haredim into employment.
Policing: At TheMarker’s conference on 14 July 2026, he said reducing crime in the Negev required youth programmes, informal education and vocational training alongside policing.
Gaza: At the ynet security conference on 27 July 2026, he called for a moderate Palestinian administration to replace Hamas, with regional and international partners helping to establish it.
Where they stand
Holds the party line on every issue.