Yair Netanyahu is the son of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's son Yair is drawing fire for remaining in the US at a time when nearly 4 lakh youngsters from his country have joined the fight against Hamas in the wake of the October 7 attacks. The surprise attacks on Israel's cities left about 1,400 dead and sparked a brutal retaliation that has killed over 5,000 in Gaza.
According to reports, Yair moved to Florida earlier this year. A photo of the 32-year-old on a beach has gone viral, with many claiming that he is enjoying in Miami while his countrymen fly home to join the fight against Hamas. NDTV cannot verify the authenticity of the photograph.
The Times spoke to one of the volunteers stationed on Israel's northern front. "Yair is enjoying his life at Miami Beach while I'm on the front lines. It's us who are leaving our work, our families, our kids, to protect our families back home and the country, not the people who are responsible for this situation," the soldier was quoted as saying.
Another soldier serving on the border with Gaza said, "I've flown back from the States where I have a job, a life, my family. There is no way I can stay there and abandon my country, my people, at this critical time. Where is the prime minister's son? Why isn't he in Israel?"
"It is the most uniting moment for us as Israelis in our recent history and every single one of us should be here right now, including the prime minister's son," he told The Times.
A podcaster by profession, Yair is the son of Netanyahu's third wife Sara. A staunch defender of his father, Yair has often courted controversy by his anti-Islamic social media posts. In 2018, his Facebook account was blocked for 24 hours after he posted that there will be no peace in Israel till "all Muslims leave". "There will not be peace here until: 1. All the Jews leave the land of Israel. 2. All the Muslims leave the land of Israel. I prefer the second option," he wrote, according to The Times of Israel. "There will never be peace with those monsters in the form of men that have called themselves 'Palestinians' since 1964," Yair's another post read.
About five years back, Yair was caught in a row over a video outside a strip club in which he was heard suggesting how his father allegedly pushed through a $20billion gas deal for the benefit of a business tycoon. The visuals sparked a huge row, following which Yair apologised and Netanyahu put out a statement criticising his son.
Earlier this year, The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu and his wife Sara had reportedly told Yair to stop posting on social media and not speak directly with lawmakers or ministers. This had come amid accusations that he was inflaming tensions in Israel and exacerbating a diplomatic rift with the United States.
Months back, an Israeli court asked Yair to pay $34,000 in damages to a woman after he made statements in a social media post implying that she was in a relationship with politician Benny Gantz, who was competing Netanyahu for Prime Minister post. Soon after, he went to the US.