Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, took part in a pre-Independence Day toast at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv on Monday, where he shook hands with IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Yair Golan. Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO.

JNS.org – Less than a week after Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Yair Golan made controversial remarks in a Holocaust Remembrance Day speech that drew a rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the two shook hands on Monday during a pre-Independence Day toast at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv.

At the end of Monday’s celebratory gathering of Israel’s top military officials, Netanyahu said, “The story of the speech is behind us. I see this as a one-time thing, and from here we’ll all continue on together.”

Golan set off a firestorm last week when, in a speech at a Holocaust Remembrance Day event, he said he identified in Israel the same “revolting trends” that were present in Europe before the Holocaust. Golan later clarified his remarks, saying, “The comparison is absurd and unfounded. There was no intention of creating that impression or to criticize [Israel’s] political echelon. The IDF is a moral army that honors the tenets of purity of arms and dignity.”