Yair Golan tells Haredim a partnership with his Democrats starts in Ramat Gan

Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats party and a major general in the reserves, said his party is seeking a partnership with Israel's Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, public, but that such a partnership would come with obligations on both sides. In a post on X, Golan wrote that a genuine partnership "requires mutual responsibility" and that his party is not looking to punish the Haredim.

The same message was relayed by political commentator Amit Segal on his Telegram channel, which carried Golan's remarks under his title as party leader. In both versions, Golan contrasted his approach with that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the Democrats would not travel to Bnei Brak or Mea Shearim to seek Haredi support. Anyone who wants to partner with his party, he said, would have to meet it in Ramat Gan.

What Golan set out as conditions

According to Golan's post, his position rests on several demands. He said Haredim need to be enlisted, a reference to military service. He also called for expanding Haredi participation in the workforce and for ensuring that every child in Israel is given the tools to earn a dignified living. The middle class, he wrote, cannot keep shouldering the economic and security burden by itself.

Golan also framed the issue as one of reciprocity on lifestyle. Just as his camp respects the Haredi way of life, he said, it expects its own way of life to be respected in return. The version on Segal's channel continues into a point about the municipalities his camp regards as its own, but the text available to us breaks off before that point is completed.

The X post opened with a broader political statement. Golan wrote there that the Netanyahu government must be replaced and that what he called a government of rescue and change should be formed to secure a democratic Israel, its security and its future. He said his side is committed to making every effort to bring that about.

The places he named

The geography in Golan's remarks carries a message that may not be obvious to readers outside Israel. Bnei Brak is a largely Haredi city just east of Tel Aviv, and Mea Shearim is one of the best-known ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods of Jerusalem. Politicians courting Haredi parties have often visited rabbis and party leaders in these places. Ramat Gan is a mostly secular city that borders Bnei Brak directly. By naming it, Golan was saying that Haredi partners would have to come to his side of the line, rather than the other way round.

Who the Haredim are, and why enlistment matters

Haredim are the strictly observant ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel. Many Haredi men study full-time in yeshivas, or religious seminaries, and the community has long been largely exempt from the military service that is compulsory for most other Jewish Israelis. Haredi parties have traditionally been coalition partners for governments led by Netanyahu's Likud. Whether and how to draft Haredi men, and how to raise their rate of employment, has been one of the most divisive questions in Israeli politics, tied to arguments over fairness in sharing the burden of defence and over state funding.

Who the Democrats are

The Democrats is a centre-left party on the Israeli opposition benches, led by Golan. It was formed by bringing together the Labor party and Meretz, two long-standing parties of the Israeli left. Golan has positioned himself as a sharp critic of the Netanyahu government, and his statement presents the Haredi question as part of his case for replacing it.

What the reports do not say

Neither report includes any response from Haredi parties or rabbinic leaders, or from Netanyahu or Likud. Golan did not specify what enlistment arrangement or employment measures he would require, and the full text of his remarks on municipalities is not available in the material. The reports also do not say what prompted the statement or whether any contact with Haredi representatives has taken place.