Netanyahu’s Visit to Grieving Family: A Moment of Reckoning
Netanyahu and his cronies forget that the truth will come out, eventually.
UPDATE:
The Times of Israel also covered the story and it’s not behind a paywall.
The Eye-Catching Moment
Sara Netanyahu, who accompanied her husband on the visit, attempted to defend him, saying that he was “very alone” in security consultations. The prime minister added, “Alone, against the whole world, against the president of the United States.” Sara added, “and against the IDF officials here,” suggesting that the prime minister had been failed by the IDF ahead of October 7 and/or clashed with security chiefs over the conduct of the war.
This was in response to the grieving father’s accusation that Netanyahu hadn’t done enough to stop Hamas over the last 15 years. For Netanyahu (and his wife) it became a finger-pointing exercise blaming everybody but themselves for the death of the hostages.
There’s also a transcript of the conversation during the visit available here.
My Objective
My objective in I/P? To help end the needless slaughter, no matter how insignificant my words are.
I’ll admit that this is not the type of family that I have much in common with, but their grief is evident. I empathize with their loss and admire their reaction to their tragedy. All Netanyahu wanted was a photo-op and of course praise; but…
Unexpected Truth from a Grieving Family
Subtitle: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the Danino family, mourning their son who was held hostage and murdered by Hamas, quickly turned into a moment of reckoning. Sadly, his words are unlikely to change Netanyahu’s mind.
Oops, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu probably said to himself after he left, chastened and shamed, the home of the Danino family, which is mourning their son Uri, who was murdered in a Hamas tunnel. What a mistake of judgment. A Shasnik family, Mizrahi and seemingly right-wing – what could go wrong?
When they know the truth, well, everything.
A Father’s Plea
The bereaved father said that the massacre in southern Israel occurred because of the “rifts and division” in the nation; he beseeched the prime minister to cease engaging in “petty and cheap politics and in spin.” He told him, “There is no price tag on human life” and pleaded for the lives of the hostages who are still alive and suffering so terribly.
It Got Worse
“They were murdered in tunnels that you built on your watch … The cement and dollars entered on your watch. You are responsible for all their lives,” the rabbi said to the prime minister.
Much Worse
But as usual, Netanyahu had to talk about himself. “At age 22, I raided a plane with hostages in order to free them. I was wounded there … Four years later, [I lost] my oldest brother. I understand what it’s like to lose a brother, don’t I?”
Ori’s brother erupted: “You don’t understand! You built a career on your brother’s back. Enough already!” he shouted.
Then Disaster Struck
While her husband is telling the bereaved family how he fought all alone against an obstinate army that refused to act (a total lie), she chimes in to support her husband’s monologue of victimhood: “Do you have any idea what he did for 15 years?” She indignantly questions the bereaved father (Yes, he says, meaning that Bibi transferred a ton of money to Hamas and deliberately strengthened it in order to weaken the Palestinian Authority)
As she always does at such encounters, she moaned about how hard life is for her family and denigrated the military chiefs who supposedly won’t let her husband work.
Then she outdid herself when she crudely upbraided the bereaved father: “You’re being told what to say.”
* She for clarification refers to Sara Ben-Artzi, Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife.
No Empathy Shown
Was any contrition or empathy shown by this appalling couple? No.
Did members of the cabinet who saw the video challenge any of the statements? No.
Sadly, the answer is totally predictable. And the same can be said about the cabinet members who were shown the footage the other night and then hastened to make statements to the media about how shocked and horrified they were.
With them, too, it’s all just kalam fadi (“empty talk”), as the Arabic saying goes.
All any of them care about is their political careers, certainly, the hostages are of no significance whatsoever, the Palestinian civilians even less so.
