Democrats party leader Yair Golan has outlined a series of demands ahead of the 2026 elections, including requiring Channel 14 to sign the Press Council's ethics code or face closure, ending funding for the Bnei David pre-military academy in Eli, and demanding control over four key government ministries. Golan announced the proposals Saturday evening during an appearance on Meet the Press. He said his party would seek control of the Justice, Education, National Security, and Communications ministries.
Golan also declared that funding for the Bnei David pre-military academy in Eli would be discontinued.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded sharply, warning that a government led by Gadi Eisenkot and Golan would pursue policies aimed at shutting down right-wing media outlets and closing the academy.
"Throughout the past several months, I have warned about what an Eisenkot-Golan government would bring upon us," Smotrich said. "Yair Golan promises to close the academy in Eli, shut down right-wing media channels, and expel the new communities and farms we have established in Judea and Samaria."
Smotrich called on voters in the national camp to support only a party that is certain to pass the electoral threshold. Justice Minister Yariv Levin also condemned Golan's statements, accusing the political left of seeking sweeping control over government institutions.
"The left, led by Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan, is not hiding its Bolshevik intentions," Levin said.
He argued that control of the Justice Ministry would be used to undermine democracy and strengthen the power of legal officials, while the Education Ministry would be used to weaken Jewish identity and promote what he described as radical progressive ideology.
Levin further accused the left of seeking to use the National Security Ministry to enforce selective policing and the Communications Ministry to censor social media and close Channel 14.
"All of this will happen if we do not go out and vote, and if we give up on relatives and friends who are too lazy to reach the polling station," Levin said.