Yair Golan: On this Rosh Hashanah, Israel’s reckless government needs to hear the voices of Diaspora Jews

Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats party in Israel, speaks during a demonstration in Tel Aviv, March 22, 2025. Photo by Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Sign up for Forwarding the News, our essential morning briefing with trusted, nonpartisan news and analysis, curated by Senior Writer Benyamin Cohen.

(JTA) — I have dedicated my life to the security of Israel — as a citizen, a soldier rising to deputy chief of staff of the IDF, and now as the leader of one of Israel’s main opposition parties committed to being part of our next government; one of repair and rebuilding.

The barbaric massacre inflicted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 was the biggest disaster ever to befall the State of Israel. That day I, like many other Israelis, did what I could: I headed south into the fight to save as many lives as possible.

As we reflect this Rosh Hashanah, nearly two years into Israel’s longest war, we have yet to heal from the trauma of that day and everything since. A majority of Israelis agree it is time to end the fighting, bring the hostages home and begin the process of rebuilding our embattled and brutalized country and region.

To do that we need the support, solidarity and partnership of Diaspora Jewry. Israel is the national homeland of the Jewish people and Oct. 7 was not just an Israeli tragedy but a Jewish one. Brutal extremists massacred 1,200 mostly, but not only, Jewish men, women and children. It triggered an ongoing wave of antisemitism starting even before Israel had responded, driven by those who share, sympathize with and justify the same murderous, antisemitic ideology as Hamas. It has brought hatred, violence and even murder to Jewish communities worldwide.

Since Oct. 7 it has been crystal clear: The wellbeing, security and fates of all Israeli citizens and world Jewry are intertwined and inseparable. In the spirit of the High Holidays, therefore, we must reflect on, renew and strengthen our relationship. Israel’s citizens need your support and I pledge that any government of which I am a part will always respect the values and interests of world Jewry.

Historically, the relationship between Israel and Diaspora Jews has been asymmetrical. It was formulated in a 1950 agreement between Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, and the president of the American Jewish Committee, Jacob Blaustein.

World Jewry would provide material and diplomatic support. Israel would do nothing to undermine the loyalties of Diaspora Jews to their countries of citizenship. Dirty laundry about Israel and the relationship would not be publicly aired.  It was not a partnership of equals but in those early decades it served its purpose. And throughout those decades, Israel was overwhelmingly a source of pride for the Jewish people.

But what made sense in 1950 no longer makes sense today. Israel and the Jewish people’s worst crisis in decades has been presided over by the most dangerous, reckless and extreme government in Israel’s history. A government that cynically includes the likes of Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir cannot possibly uphold the Jewish and democratic values of the overwhelming majority of world Jewry or, for that matter, of Israel’s citizens.

And just as this government sows division in Israel, it is exporting division to your communities. The poison-machine that attacks legitimate democratic dissent in Israel now extends to attempting to silence Diaspora dissent. Israel’s own government is alienating the liberal majority of world Jewry when our partnership is most vital. This is a betrayal of Zionism and Jewish Peoplehood. We need to resist it together. Any government I join will not ignore, patronize or take for granted world Jewry but work in partnership with it. And when we disagree, we will not accuse you of treachery but will hear what you have to say.

Israel’s democracy is under attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prioritizes his own political survival over and above upholding the values on which Israel was founded as set out in the Declaration of Independence.

Just as we Israelis request and need Diaspora support when Israel is attacked by external enemies, be they Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran or the Houthis, so we need Diaspora Jews to support us in withstanding the assault from within. Our partnership is urgent and strategically consequential. Israelis of diverse backgrounds defending our democracy are more likely to succeed if Diaspora Jewry steps up.  You have a right and an interest in doing so. If Israeli democracy is destroyed it will not only be a catastrophe for Israel but for world Jewry.

That is why I am calling on Diaspora Jews to be more vocal. Now is not the time to distance yourself from Israel and Israelis, however repellant you find our current government, but to draw closer in unprecedented liberal partnership.

Our new partnership must be one of equals, built on mutual dignity, consideration for our very different circumstances and complete honesty. World Jewry needs to understand the challenges faced by all Israelis and that the need for security in our turbulent region necessitates tough actions. Likewise, Israelis must better understand the challenges facing pluralistic and vibrant Diaspora communities, as minorities facing an onslaught of antisemitism while their own countries grapple with threats to democracy and security.

Our new partnership must also recognize that while Israel is and will always remain the national homeland of the Jewish People, 20% of Israel’s citizens are not Jewish. Israel’s Arab minority — mostly Sunni Muslims — must be included within our partnership. This community is not only an important political partner for changing Israel’s internal trajectory and for forging peace, but a potential ally for better interfaith relations for Jews around the world.

World Jewry can and must distinguish between the policies of this government of which the great majority — like a majority of Israelis — disapprove, and Israel’s citizens and society. Israelis like me who oppose this government must do a better job proving what has long been lost on Netanyahu — that he is not the state.

More Israelis than ever, many driven by despair at the lack of prospects for a better future. are living around the world. There is an unprecedented opportunity for them to work in closer partnership with Diaspora communities. This partnership can be a bridge to greater mutual understanding, confidence and decisive action. And when the election comes, we need every likeminded citizen of Israel back home to vote.

Diaspora philanthropists who support Netanyahu’s attack on democracy, who support expanding the settlement movement and the ongoing judicial coup have put their resources, voices and energy into doing so. They have done this in complete disregard of the Blaustein-Ben-Gurion agreement. Now we need Diaspora philanthropists who support Israeli democracy to step up and invest in our civil society in the face of the government’s ruthless attacks. We need you to stop playing the current game by outdated rules that this government’s supporters brazenly flout themselves but aggressively demand from others to silence dissent.

We also all need hope: hope this war will end, that we will bring home the hostages and that we will save Israeli democracy from the brink. And that we will repair and strengthen the relationship between Israel and Jews worldwide.

A better shared future is possible, but only after this government is confined to history, where it belongs. Jews around the world need to confidently and boldly speak up now for the Israel they love and need, in solidarity with millions of Israelis who have had enough of this extremist government. You are not outsiders. You are legitimate partners and we need to hear your voice. That is my message to rabbis across the Jewish world as they prepare their Rosh Hashanah sermons and to every Jew reflecting on the their contribution to Israel and the Jewish people over the past and coming year. Kol Yisrael arevim zeh lazeh. Speak up and speak out!

I stand for election to serve all the citizens of Israel but also to serve the people of Israel — all the People of Israel, of which Diaspora Jewry is an inseparable part. Together as never before, all like-minded citizens of Israel and world Jewry need to join forces to strive for what we all so desperately need and want: a much better year.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.