Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Israeli reserve troops “went amok” at the son of Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu, Yair. The reason is that when the country declared war against Hamas, Yair was nowhere to be seen.

The soldiers criticized Netanyahu’s son, who turned out to be in Miami, Florida state, United States (US). He is said to be enjoying life while other young Israelis are on the front lines of the war.

“Yair is enjoying his life on Miami Beach while I am on the front line,” said a reservist on Israel’s northern front line to The Times newspaper in London, quoted Thursday (26/10/2023).

“We are the ones who left our jobs, our families, our children, to protect our families back home and the country, not the people responsible for this situation,” he added.

“Our brothers, our fathers, our children, all will come to the front lines, but Yair is still not here. This does not help build confidence in the country’s leadership,” he criticized again.

Please note, the Israeli armed forces consist of a large number of reserve soldiers who have completed national service and can serve until the age of 40. Although most are based in Israel, some are abroad and have returned to Israel to report and serve.

It was these reservists called up for the war who criticized Netanyahu’s son. Especially if not, because he did not return home to fight in the ground offensive that is expected to occur in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave, soon.

“I had flown back from America where I had a job, a life, my family,” one army reservist told the newspaper.

“There is no way I can stay there and leave my country, my people, at this critical moment. Where is the prime minister’s son? Why is he not in Israel?,” he said again.

“This is the most unifying moment for us as Israelis in our recent history and every single one of us should be here today, including the prime minister’s son,” he added.

Yair himself is currently 32 years old. He moved to the US earlier this year after being sued for defamation in Israel over social media posts against a political activist.

YairNetanyahu was sued by political activist DanaCassidy in 2020 after accusing him of having a relationship with politician BennyGantz, who was running against his father for PM. The court ordered him to pay Cassidy US$34,000 (Rp. 541 million) in compensation and US$ 6,000 (Rp. 95.5 million) in legal costs.

On October 17 Yair Netanyahu was reportedly seen helping sort donations of supplies to the Israeli army (IDF) and families affected by the Israel-Hamas war. He is with an NGO from the US, Yedidim USA.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(sef/sef)