Yair Golan: Israel's Democrats Must Not Only Change the Government, But Change Its Direction

Yair Golan, chairman of Israel's Democrats party and a former IDF major general, called on Saturday for a fundamental political shift in Israel, telling a large rally in Kfar Saba that the party's mission is not merely to replace the current government but to change the country's political direction.

"Our historic mission is to make sure that what has happened here in recent years never happens again. That is our mission. Not only to replace the government, but to change direction," Golan told supporters at the rally, attended by the party's elected representatives.

Golan calls for a fundamental political change

Golan's remarks framed the Democrats' role in the next government as extending beyond a change of political leadership.

The party, which positions itself as a social-democratic and liberal political force, has made strengthening democratic institutions, restoring public trust and changing Israel's political and diplomatic course central themes of its platform.

The rally comes as opposition parties seek to consolidate their political forces ahead of the next Knesset election and define the contours of a possible alternative governing coalition.

Lazimi calls for unity within the opposition

Democrats MK Naama Lazimi called on opposition leaders to avoid internal divisions and work together.

"I call on the leaders of the bloc not to get confused. We have been through enough. The Hamas financier does not set our boundaries or determine who our partners are. We have a country to save, and we will do it only together," Lazimi said.

Her remarks were a call for greater coordination among opposition parties and an apparent reference to debates within Israel's political opposition over the composition of a future coalition.

MK Gilad Kariv calls for a renewed diplomatic initiative

MK Rabbi Gilad Kariv said a future government should seek not only to prevent what he described as a strategy of "decisive victory" and the concept of perpetual war, but also to launch a new diplomatic initiative.

"We will not only stop the implementation of the 'decisive victory' plan and the idea of endless war. We will initiate a diplomatic momentum that will restore the pursuit of peace to Israel's political vocabulary," Kariv said.

His comments placed diplomacy and the pursuit of a political settlement at the center of the party's proposed alternative to the current government's approach to the war and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Raiten: proud to be radical’ in defending democracy

Democrats parliamentary faction chair MK Efrat Rayten said the party would continue to fight for what she described as the character of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, based on the principles of the Declaration of Independence.

"If fighting for the character of Jewish and democratic Israel in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence is considered radical, I am proud to be radical," Rayten said.

"For major change, we need strong and large Democrats in the next government," she added.

Democrats seek to position themselves

The Kfar Saba rally reflects the Democrats' effort to sharpen its political identity ahead of the next election, presenting itself as a central component of a potential opposition-led government.

Golan, a former deputy chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and former leader of the Democratic Union and Meretz political movements, has sought to build the Democrats around a combination of security expertise, democratic values, social policy and a renewed diplomatic agenda.

The party's leadership is now seeking to translate those positions into electoral strength and ensure that the Democrats play a significant role in determining the composition and policy direction of Israel's next government.