She is the child of a single Orthodox Jewish mother who made Aliyah from Iraq as a 3-year-old girl as part of Operation Ezra and Nehemiah.

Identified as a child with potential, she was invited to attend Ironi Dalet High School, located in North Tel Aviv, a higher socioeconomic neighborhood.

Golan became politically active in 2011, campaigning to raise awareness about the impact of undocumented immigrants from Africa on south Tel Aviv.

[clarification needed] In April 2023, prime minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu nominated May Golan as a consul general to New York.

This appointment did not come to fruition due to the opposition of elements in the American government about Golan's past statements regarding African refugees in Israel, which were defined as racist.

Golan has attracted international attention for her vocal support of Donald Trump,[6][7] and incendiary remarks about African immigration to Israel.