Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, sparked criticism after addressing the families of hostages and fallen soldiers on social media on Wednesday, the first night of the Sukkot Jewish holiday.
As the country marked Sukkot and grappled with the recent one-year anniversary following the October 7 massacre, Netanyahu shared a family photo featuring her husband, their sons Avner and Yair, and their dog Kaya, who passed away in 2018.
The backlash was swift, with comments such as, “You are living at our expense,” and, “You are a sick and evil woman.”
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She also posted a separate image of an empty sukkah with a yellow chair draped in an Israeli flag, symbolizing the ongoing struggle for the return of hostages.
In the caption, she wrote, “In honor of Sukkot, a holiday of unity and overcoming hardship, I reach out to the grieving families, whose pain and loss have become a daily reality. I think of you and the tremendous sacrifice you’ve made—soldiers, civilians, and police officers—the heroes of our nation who stood on the front lines, protecting us all.”
“As we sit under this sukkah, I pray that God will comfort you and give you the strength to cope with your sorrow,” she continued.
Message from Netanyahu
Prime Minister Netanyahu also made a post to mark the holiday of Sukkot, in which he noted that he met a delegation of rabbis who gave him the four species of the holiday, along with Jewish "Tanya" books printed in Lebanon during the First Lebanon War.
According to the Prime Minister's Office, Prime Minister Netanyahu "thanked the rabbis for standing by him as the war continues to total victory, and wished them and the entire people of Israel a happy Sukkot."
"We must be strong and resourceful and hope for assistance from Heaven. This is a long war – it does not proceed as we might prefer. There are good days and less good days, but the main thing is to strive for victory," Prime Minister Netanyahu added.
Comments on the X post also highly criticized the prime minister for his post.
לכבוד חג סוכות פגשתי את משלחת רבני חב”ד שהעניקו לי את ארבעת המינים וספרי “תניא” שהודפסו בלבנון במהלך מלחמת לבנון הראשונה – תזכורת מרגשת לעוצמה שלנו גם בזמני קרב. אמרתי לרבנים שאנחנו נדרשים לעוז, לתחבולה ולסיעתא דשמיא. המלחמה היא מסע ארוך, אך מטרתנו ברורה – לנצח. חג סוכות שמח… pic.twitter.com/376w7SFsbW
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) October 15, 2024