The son of the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, is facing intense criticismas well as the time when the reservists were returning home to fight against Hamas, he remained in Miami.

Yair Netanyahu, 32, has been in Florida since at least Aprilafter his father told him to stop making inflammatory posts on social media, for which he has been sued for defamation multiple times, reports Daily Mail.

In the meantime, 360,000 reservists have been called up, many of whom drop everything to fly back to Israel, even turning back from their honeymoon.

But Yair remained in Miami, to the chagrin of some in the military. “Yair is enjoying his life on Miami Beach while I’m on the front lines”he told the Times a soldier, a volunteer serving on Israel’s northern front.

“It is us who leave our jobs, our families, our children, to protect our families back home and the country, not the people who are responsible for this situation.

“Our brothers, our fathers, our sons, they all go to the front line, but Yair is not here yet. It does not help build trust in the country’s leadership.”

Another reservist, who remains on standby at the Gaza border, said: “I have flown back from the US where I have a job, life and family.

“There is no way I can stay there and abandon my country, my people, at this critical moment. Where is the prime minister’s son? Why isn’t it in Israel?

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

Yair, who studied theater in high school, completed his mandatory military service as a worker in the IDF representative unit, rather than as a combat soldier.

It is reminded that military service is mandatory for the majority of Israelis when they turn 18. Men must serve 32 months and women 24.

After fulfilling their military obligations, most of them may be called to reserve units until the age of 40, or even older, in case of a national emergencyfighting alongside regular troops in times of war.

Reserves are also used in non-combat positions, which means that Yair’s lack of frontline experience is not a barrier to him being automatically released.

Israelis abroad use WhatsApp chats to arrange their return, exchanging information on where to find available flights, said Jedida Salman, who was in Thailand on his honeymoon when the violence in Gaza erupted.

“We set up WhatsApp groups almost everywhere in the world, invited people to join them and slowly worked to bring as many reservists as possible back to Israel”, he told Reuters, explaining that he and his wife did not hesitate to cut short their vacation. “Of course, we didn’t have second thoughts and we are currently returning to our country on an El Al plane,” he said via WhatsApp.

Who is Yair Netanyahu?

The son of the Israeli prime minister has become known as right-wing podcast hostbut also for his engagement with the media, making controversial comments and posts resulting in him facing defamation charges.

Yair had sparked public anger when he called hundreds of thousands of Israelis who took to the streets against the Supreme Court’s government reform “terrorists” and accused the United States of being behind the protests.

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In August, he was ordered by a court to pay more than $34,000 in restitution and $6,000 in legal costs to a woman who suggested she had an affair with his father’s political rival.

Earlier this year, a judge ordered him to pay $18,000 to a former lawmaker from Israel’s opposition Labor Party, whom he called “ugly.”

Yair also caused a backlash when in 2014 it became known that he was dating a Norwegian woman – who was not Jewish.

The then 23-year-old was spotted in Israel with blonde communications student Sandra Leikanger, then 25, and even visited her home country.
Their romance emerged after Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg revealed that Benjamin Netanyahu “bragged” about his son’s relationship at the World Economic Forum in Davos.