On the morning of 7 October last year, reserve Maj Gen Yair Golan decided he could not stay at home in the central town of Rosh Ha'ayin. The scale of Hamas' attack was still unclear, but he put on his uniform and drove to the home front command headquarters.
"I went to the war room and I was shocked. On the big screens we could see Toyota cars moving inside Ofakim, Sderot, shooting everywhere, and I understood something terrible was happening," said the 61-year-old.
Picking up a rifle from the base, he continued south to the battlefields, alone, relying on almost 40 years of combat experience to dodge Hamas on back roads through the fields to rescue people fleeing from the Nova festival. A total of 364 partygoers were massacred and another 40 taken hostage at Nova. He managed to rescue six people, only stopping the search for survivors when it got too dark to keep going.
Golan, who entered politics five years ago after a career in the army, is one of the most prominent of the many brave Israelis who took matters into their own hands to save others that day. His new image as a hero has given his political career a shot in the armand he has decided his new mission is to revive his country's moribund left.
Elected in May as the leader of Israel's centre-left Labor party with 95% of the vote, by July Golan had successfully orchestrated a merger with his former party, the leftwing Meretz.
Denne historien er fra August 16, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra August 16, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Life in motion
After the Oscar success of a little-known Latvian animation called Flow, are the artform's budget film-makers on the brink of new recognition?
'Ceasefire' is a hollow word - the killings and denial of aid continue
It has been nearly two months since a ceasefire came into effect in Gaza, and it's clear that it would more accurately be called a \"reduce\" fire, rather than a cessation.
Policy jolts Businesses blindsided by Trump tariff uncertainty
Donald Trump declared there to be \"no room left\" for a deal with Canada and Mexico last week, launching a trade war against his nation's closest allies that he presented as a bid to protect America's soul. Then he pulled back.
Crap jobs, toxic politics: no wonder happiness evades young people
So there are two studies, one commissioned by Weetabix, one by the UN, but we don't need to decide which one is likely to be the more reliable because, praise be, they both say the same thing: 45 is now the age of peak happiness.
Keeping their distance Populists in a tight spot over support for Trump
Europe's rightwing populist parties are split over how far to distance themselves from Donald Trump's pressure on Ukraine, with some fearing solidarity with the US president's brand of nationalism will damage their efforts to widen their domestic support.
Evidence of beatings, torture and starvation at RSF base
Lying between the makeshift graves is a mattress, a large bloodstain visible in the midday sun. A name is scrawled in Arabic on its ragged fabric: Mohammed Adam.
New surgery restores smell for long Covid sufferers
Doctors in London have successfully restored a sense of smell and taste in patients who lost it due to long Covid with pioneering surgery that expands their nasal airways to kickstart their recovery.
Dark secrets Stargazing heaven put at risk by energy plant
In the Atacama desert, the driest non-polar region on Earth, the sky shines when the sun sets. Up in the arid hills 130km south of the Chilean city of Antofagasta, comets burn brightly and flawless trails of stars and nebulae streak the night sky.
Find the whey: tempting ideas to make the most of cottage cheese
Why is everyone talking about cottage cheese, and can you make anything that's actually good with it?
Recasting India's electoral map risks deepening its north-south divide
When Narendra Modi's alliance won a narrow majority in last year's Indian election, it signalled his waning popularity after a decade in power.
