Hadash MKs lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Sunday, May 8, accusing him of hypocrisy for reprimanding an IDF general for allegedly demeaning the memory of the Holocaust in a Remembrance Day speech. Major General Yair Golan, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff, came under fire after saying last Wednesday evening, during a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, that “the Holocaust must lead us to think about our public life, and more importantly, it must lead everyone who can, not merely those who want, to bear public responsibility. If there is something that frightens me about the memory of the Holocaust, it is seeing the abhorrent processes that took place in Europe, and Germany in particular, some 70, 80 or 90 years ago, and finding manifestations of these processes here among us in 2016.”

IDF Deputy Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Yair Golan, during the Holocaust Remembrance Day at Kibbutz Tel-Yitzchak, Wednesday, May 4 (Footage from Channel 10)

Netanyahu, during Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting, berated General Golan, calling his comments on fascist political trends in Israel “outrageous” and asserting that they “cheapened” the memory of the Holocaust. “The comparison that was made in IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Yair Golan’s remarks about processes that characterized Nazi Germany 80 years ago is infuriating,” continued Netanyahu. Minister of Education Miri Regev called for Golan’s resignation due to what she described as the “severe words” he used in his speech. Minister of Science, Technology and Space Ofir Akunis added: “It’s inconceivable that while we’re traveling around the world attempting trying to fight the BDS movement, the IDF deputy chief of staff is making such statements.”

Much of the criticism of Netanyahu by Hadash MKs hinged on accusations that the prime minister himself has repeatedly used the memory of the Holocaust for political gain. Joint List MK Aida Touma-Sliman said Netanyahu’s attack on Golan stems from “those very same developments he [Golan] is warning about” — the rise of militant right-wing nationalism and fascism in Israel.