Several reservists claim that the prime minister’s son “abandoned” his nation and moved to Florida.
Yair Netanyahu, son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is still in Florida performing nonprofit charitable work and is not one of the 300,000 reservists called up for the conflict with Hamas. According to the Times of London, a number of Israeli soldiers believe this to be a betrayal.
One soldier, a volunteer confronting Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon, told a British journalist, “Yair is living it up at Miami Beach while I’m on the front lines.” The soldier, who asked to remain anonymous for security concerns, said that “the people responsible for this situation” aren’t doing their fair share of the work, which is causing “distrust and anger” among the troops.
“Yair is still not here, despite the fact that all of our brothers, fathers, and sons are heading to the front lines. The soldier told the Times that it did not contribute to the development of national leadership trust.
Another soldier stated he flew back from the US and left his job, life, and family in order to deploy to the southern front against Hamas.
“There is no way I can stay there at this crucial time and leave my nation and my people. Where is the son of the prime minister? Why’s he not in Israel? said the soldier. Everyone in Israel should be present at this time since it is the greatest unifying occasion in recent memory, including the son of the prime minister.
Until they are 40, all Israelis must participate in mandatory military duty and reserve call-ups. Netanyahu is 32 years old. But he served in the Israel Defence Force (IDF) as a spokesperson rather than a combatant.
The son of the prime minister relocated to the US earlier this year after calling Israelis who demonstrated against his father’s judicial changes “terrorists” on social media and charging that the US had funded the unrest.
His Instagram feed is now used to generate money for NGOs supporting the 120,000 Israeli citizens who have been evacuated from the country’s north and south as a result of the Hamas attack. In a picture published by the Times, Yair Netanyahu was seen carrying humanitarian shipments at the Fort Lauderdale warehouse of the Jewish charity Yedidim USA.
After the October 7 Hamas assault, which resulted in an estimated 1,400 Israeli fatalities, Netanyahu declared “war” on Hamas. Nearly 360,000 Israelis have been called up or volunteered for military or support service. The West Jerusalem administration has pledged to “wipe out” the Gaza-based Palestinian organisation.
