You Can't Say That

In a hard-hitting Holocaust memorial day speech on Wednesday evening, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) deputy chief of staff, Maj Gen Yair Golan, made remarks that he felt compelled to clarify overnight on Thursday, insisting he had not “intended to compare Israel to Nazi Germany”.

[...]

Golan told an audience including a government minister and survivors of the Holocaust: “The Holocaust must lead us to think about our public lives, and even more than that, it must guide anyone who has the ability, not only those who wish to bear public responsibility.

“Because if there is anything that frightens me in the remembrance of the Holocaust, it is discerning nauseating trends that took place in Europe in general, and in Germany specifically back then, 70, 80 and 90 years ago, and seeing evidence of them here among us in the year 2016.

[...]

“On Holocaust remembrance day, it is worthwhile to ponder our capacity to uproot the first signs of intolerance, violence, and self-destruction that arise on the path to moral degradation,” Golan said.

[...]

His remarks immediately provoked outrage on Twitter, particularly for referring to the case of an Israeli soldier who shot dead a wounded Palestinian attacker in Hebron after he had ceased to pose a threat.

[...]

“A moment before our soldiers are compared to Nazis, with ‘endorsement’ from up high – the deputy chief of staff has erred and must rectify it immediately,” Bennett said on Twitter.

Israel’s opposition leader Isaac Herzog, however, praised Golan as a “courageous commander” adding: “The crazies who will now start screaming against him should know: this is what morality and responsibility sound like.”


In a statement on Thursday morning, however, Golan insisted: “It is an absurd and baseless comparison and I had no intention whatsoever to draw any sort of parallel or to criticise the national leadership. The IDF is a moral army that respects the rules of engagement and protects human dignity.”
  Guardian

I wonder who wrote his hostage statement.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.