Opposition erupts as Lapid says Golan’s reckless power-grab harms electoral chances and misleads Israelis.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) sharply attacked Democrats chairman Yair Golan on Monday, accusing him of acting out of personal ambition rather than ideology after Golan renewed his calls for mergers among parties seeking to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lapid dismissed Golan’s demand outright:
“Yair Golan has no ideological interest — we do. They are the left; we are the center. These are totally different things that cannot be merged.”
Lapid accused Golan of deliberately ignoring internal polling showing that such merger chatter actually weakens the anti-Netanyahu bloc:
“Surveys were shown to Golan and his people proving this harms the camp’s chances of winning — yet he keeps pushing it just to grab a headline. It’s irresponsible, and he must stop.”
Golan, in a Sunday interview, insisted that the old left-right-center spectrum is outdated and claimed the real divide in Israel is now between what he calls a “corrupt and authoritarian camp” versus a “liberal-democratic camp.”
He blasted centrist leaders — Lapid, Gantz, and Eisenkot — accusing them of clinging to outdated political identities and urged them to join him in creating a “large and strong liberal-democratic camp” to challenge Netanyahu.
Lapid’s response signaled deepening rifts inside the anti-Netanyahu opposition, with centrists accusing Golan of pushing a radical-left narrative that alienates mainstream Israelis, while Golan accuses centrist parties of refusing to unite behind his ideological branding.
Political analysts say the internal feud highlights the disarray among Netanyahu’s opponents, many of whom are fragmented by ego clashes, ideological divides, and attempts by far-left factions to drag the center toward a more extreme agenda.
