They kill children and laugh

Every one of us, every viewer, every listener, every silent person, every silencer, every one who gives legitimacy even through their silence—is a partner. And every one of you has the power to refuse.
This month, two scenes took place in the Knesset plenum in front of everyone and were recorded in the annals of history. They will remain etched in my memory for many years to come.
The first occurred on May 9, Victory Day over Nazism.
I stood on stage and spoke, as I do every year, about the historical lessons we must remember on this particular day: about the triumph of life over the machine of annihilation, about the defeat of racist and inhuman ideologies, and about the moral test we are failing these days: the killing of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, including tens of thousands of children.
A simple fact was raised: innocent, vulnerable children were killed. They were not "saboteurs," not "human shields," not "involved," but children. Little human beings, made of flesh and blood. 18,000 children, according to UN data, were buried to death, burned alive, and many more are being bombed, starved, sickened, and continue to be buried under the rubble, day after day, night after night.
As I finished, MK Michal Waldger, from the heart of the coalition, stood up and said, "What's happening in Gaza, it's unfortunate that it wasn't worse. There are no innocent people. Yes, children must be killed. Because they are being used as human shields."
The second scene occurred last week, when my colleague, MK Ayman Odeh, was forcibly removed from the podium simply because he said: “There are limits to lies. Denying the Nakba will not undo it. You don’t realize how weak you appear. A year and a half of war, 19,000 children killed, 53,000 civilians killed — and you don’t have a single political achievement. Just killing, just bombing, just war against civilians.”
Chaos erupted in the hall, and Knesset guards were called to take him down, a rare sight even in my many years in the Knesset.
The sad truth is that the only Jewish MK to condemn the killing of children prior to Yair Golan's statement was Ofer Cassif. And even this week, after the horrific tragedy that befell the Najjar family—the deaths of nine children and the severe wounding of the father and 11-year-old Adam—not a single voice of condemnation was heard.
No call has been heard to stop these atrocities.
Yahya (12 years old), Rakan (10), Eve (9), Jubran (8), Najjar (7), Rawan (5), Sadeen (3), Luqman (2 years old) and Cedar (7 months old) — the children of the Najjar family were killed/exterminated by an Israeli airstrike, and the world, as usual, moves on.
In Israel 2025, this is the "abnormal normal": open and proud support for the killing of children. Not a slip of the tongue—but clear statements of support for war crimes, said publicly and proudly. Instead of public opinion rising or demanding a ceasefire, it is met with laughter, or deafening silence.
Ironically, it was Yair Golan's "simple" statement that "a sane state does not kill children as a hobby" that sparked the storm.
Can anyone claim that killing children is a rational act?
In November 2023, Benjamin Netanyahu wrote: “We have always fought enemies who sought to annihilate us… The current battle against Hamas is another chapter in the epic of resilience.”
He then declared: "Our forces are controlling more territory in Gaza, and at the end of the operation, all of the territory in the Strip will be under Israeli security control."
A statement that completely contradicts international law, which prohibits the occupation of territory by force.
Calls for genocide, expulsion, and war crimes in Gaza are not a hobby—they are official policy, even supported by the opposition.
In recent weeks, many ministers and MPs have made public statements supporting war crimes.
Deputy Knesset Speaker Nissim Vaturi (Likud): "Who is innocent in Gaza?... Women and children must be separated, and the adults must be killed. We are being too lenient." He added: "We will turn Jenin into Gaza."
MK Moshe Saada (Likud): "Yes, I will starve the people of Gaza... This is our duty."
Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, called for the transfer of residents and said: "We will destroy what is left of Gaza."
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Minister of National Security, repeatedly declares that "there are no innocent people in Gaza" and justifies attacks on civilians.
Even the opposition isn't innocent. Benny Gantz recently said at a conference in New York: "We have a unique opportunity in Gaza to promote Trump's plan for voluntary migration."
Imagine if a member of parliament in a Western democracy had declared his support for killing children, a huge scandal would have erupted.
But here? Almost nothing. No headlines, no investigations, no public outcry.
On the contrary, the media publishes "polls" about support for starving civilians and normalizes this.
Do you already see where we're going?
We are on the brink of genocide — starvation, displacement, extermination.
This is not just online rhetoric, nor electoral slogans, but official policy, linguistically laundered and presented as a security issue, but in essence, it represents a complete trampling of every moral boundary.
And what's worse? Anyone who denounces these crimes is accused of incitement. We are attacked, defamed, arrested, silenced, and prosecuted by ethics committees.
The same committee that ruled this week that MK Faturi's statement that "Gaza must be burned" was merely a "political expression reflecting his ideology" — a decision that shows that morality has nothing to do with this Knesset.
When the justification for the killing of children, starvation, and expulsion is allowed, especially on Victory Day, it means that the lesson has not been learned. This is an abuse of history, a trauma, and a moral and human distortion.
How can we forget the big lie: “The most moral army in the world”?
What kind of morals? What kind of army kills thousands of children and starves millions?
This is empty propaganda aimed at numbing the public conscience and silencing anyone who dares to criticize.
I learned from Primo Levi, a Holocaust survivor: “Only one thing remains for us to do, and we must try to do it with all our might, because it is the last thing left to us: we can reject their actions.”
Personally, I refuse to get used to it. We refuse to be silent. We refuse to submit to this political madness. We refuse to normalize violence. Each one of you is a partner. Each one of you has the power to refuse.