Lawmaker Naama Lazimi said Sunday, at a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee, that "Yair Netanyahu was exiled abroad because he hit the prime minister." The Pavlovian response from Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party to the accusations concerning him and his elder son were not long in coming: full denial and a threat of a lawsuit to silence her and anyone else who dared amplify her remarks, which Likud, with its customary delicacy, called "an absolute, despicable lie" and "a new nadir for left-wing sewage."
In a civilized country, instead of attacking Lazimi the ruling party would have issued a clarification to finally explain to the public why Yair Netanyahu has been living in Miami for the past two years. If Lazimi's claims are really false, then disclose the true reason for his long stay there. It's not a matter of gossip and not excessive harassment.
Considering that Yair Netanyahu's security detail on foreign shores are funded – at enormous expense – by Israeli taxpayers, it is only right for us to know, at the very least, why he's there, whether for private reasons or those with public importance, and until when will we continue to pay for his stay there. Another justified question Lazimi asked concerns the funding source for the two-month stay in Miami by the "support of his life," the prime minister's wife Sara Netanyahu.
The Freedom of Information Law requires the government to provide all information to the public, including about public spending. The public is the one footing the bill, so it has the legal right to know what it is paying for. It's no less important in a civilized democratic country to conduct public oversight of the actions of the prime minister and his wife.
Of course, if we were a normal country then from the outset there wouldn't be a need to supply such information since the prime minister's wife wouldn't have left the country for two months in wartime. The leaders of a civilized country would show restraint and provide a personal example: At a time when citizens are being called up for military reserve duty or have been evacuated from their homes, and their country's economy is in danger – they would have avoided unnecessary wasteful spending and cut back on their travel, and certainly prolonged stays abroad. All the more so: In a civilized country a prime minister on trial for corruption would have resigned a long time ago.
Yair Netanyahu, the son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at court in Kfar Saba, last year.Credit: Hadas Parush
But Israel is not a civilized country, it's a country whose political leaders have caused it irreparable harm – at least until it they can be replaced. This leadership is increasingly acculturating residents, officials and journalists to the notion that they are forbidden to criticize it, or even ask questions. For years we have been accustomed to the fact that the Netanyahus need neither report nor explain its actions to anyone. The prime minister does not give interviews in Hebrew, except to his own propaganda channel; he is not forced to deal with challenging questions and gives no answers to citizens. We have learned to settle for empty speeches, for talking points and for trumpet blasts. Any criticism of the royal family and any question directed is automatically framed as cheap gossip, slander or even as an act of treason.
Treating Lazimi as if she were a hooligan, intruding on the Netanyahus' privacy with false accusations, and the absolute refusal to provide an accounting to the public are more items on the spectrum of the antidemocratic responses and just add to and reinforce the effective message they convey: The Netanyahu family is above the law.We have seen in his trial how the prime minister has earned his "celebrity discounts." If Lazimi is mistaken, then please point our her error. Tell us: What is Yair doing in Miami?