JERUSALEM: Israeli government and opposition leaders condemned on Tuesday a left-wing politician, Yair Golan, after he said in a radio interview that “a sane country… does not kill babies for a hobby.”

“Israel is on the path to becoming a pariah state among the nations — like the South Africa of old — if it does not return to behaving like a sane country,” said Golan, chairman of Israel’s Democrats party.

“A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies for a hobby, and does not set goals involving the expulsion of populations,” he told Israel’s Kan public radio.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Golan, a former major general in the military, of “wild incitement” against Israeli troops and of “echoing the most despicable anti-Semitic blood libels against the (Israeli army) and the State of Israel.”

Golan also drew condemnation from government critics, with opposition leader Yair Lapid saying in a post on X: “Our fighters are heroes and are defending our lives. The statement that they kill children as a hobby is incorrect and is a gift to our enemies.”

Education Minister Yoav Kisch, of Netanyahu’s party, called for an incitement investigation into Golan, whose party is a coalition of several left-wing factions.

“Golan is not a member of Knesset and does not have immunity. I expect the attorney general to immediately open an investigation against him for incitement,” Kisch said on X.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also took to X, saying Golan’s comments would “undoubtedly serve as fuel for the fire of global antisemitism — at a time when Israel is fighting for its survival against a coalition determined to destroy it.”

Military chief Eyal Zamir in a statement condemned remarks that cast doubt on the “morality” of the army’s actions and of its troops.

Responding to criticism, Golan said on X that he was trying to sound the alarm on the direction he believed Israel was headed.

The government’s war plans are “the realization of the fantasies of (Itamar) Ben Gvir and (Bezalel) Smotrich,” Golan said, referring to two far-right ministers.

“If we allow them to realize them, we will become a pariah state,” the left-wing politician said.

During a press conference, Golan said his criticism “was in no way directed at the army.”

“My criticism is aimed at the government, not the army, which is my home and in my heart,” he told journalists.

“A government that says we can abandon hostages and starve children is a government that speaks like a spokesperson for Hamas,” he added.

Golan, a vocal opponent of Netanyahu’s government and its policies, has been a controversial figure since a 2016 speech in which he appeared to draw parallels between Israeli society and the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1930s.

In November 2024, he accused Netanyahu of putting his own political interests before the country’s following a decision to dismiss defense minister Yoav Gallant.