'Where is the PM's son?': Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu faces flak as son stays back in US instead of joining war

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing massive criticism as his eldest son Yair Netanyahu continues to stay back in the United States while lakhs of reservists have returned to the country to fight Hamas. Israel has mobilised 3 lakh-plus reservists, the largest in its history, to dismantle the terror infrastructure of Hamas, which carried out the most brutal attack on the Jewish nation since the Holocaust. 

In Israel, military service is compulsory for the majority of people when they turn 18. Men have to serve 32 months while women 24 and after that, they are put in reserve units. They can be called for duty until the age of 40 or even older in case of a national emergency.

Netanyahu's son Yair, too, has served in the Israel Defence Forces but he worked in the spokesman's unit rather than as a combat soldier, according to UK's DailyMail. Now, when most Israelis on reserve duty are coming back to Israel to fight Hamas, Yair is reportedly still in the US.  

UK's The Times reported that Israeli soldiers who have volunteered to join the war have condemned the prime minister's son for staying in the US and 'abandoning' his country. The report said that Yair, who moved to Florida earlier this year, is eligible for reserve duty but is staying back in the US.

"Yair is enjoying his life at Miami Beach while I'm on the front lines," one soldier was quoted as saying by The Times. "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."

Another soldier serving on the border with Gaza said he flew back from the US where he had a job, a life, and his family. "There is no way I can stay there and abandon my country, my people, at this critical time," he said but asked: "Where is the prime minister's son? Why isn't he in Israel?"

Christopher Robin, a social media user, said that as Israel calls its reserve back to Israel to join in the fight against Hamas, Netanyahu's son remains in the US, shielded from his duty to serve his country. "At age 32, Yair is eligible for this reserve duty."

Earlier this month, American singer Taylor Swift's Israeli bodyguard returned to the country to join the war. Speaking to Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, the security agent said that he had a pretty great life in America, a dream job, great friends, and a comfortable home but he "couldn't stand by while families were slaughtered and burned alive in their homes".

The New York Post reported that Oded Krashinsky, who has protected celebrities like Nicole Kidman, also flew back from Los Angeles to Israel to help train IDF soldiers and kibbutz members in Northern Israel. Krashinsky, who was a lieutenant in an IDF secret service special operations unit, said he returned to Israel to help his unit.

Also Read: 'You'll never find another like him': Israel to Taylor Swift as her Israeli bodyguard returns to fight Hamas