An Israeli lawmaker has accused Yair Netanyahu, the son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of being exiled to Miami following an alleged assault on his father. The accusation, made by Labor MK Naama Lazimi during a Knesset finance panel, raised questions about the government’s decision to continue funding Netanyahu’s extended stay in the US.
Lazimi questioned the justification for maintaining the security budget for Yair Netanyahu, which amounts to 2.5 million shekels annually. She suggested that the continued allocation of public funds was tied to his alleged assault on the prime minister, asking whether the funds were being used to finance his stay in Miami because he had “desecrated a symbol of state authority.”
Photo: Labor MK Naama Lazimi at a Knesset committee meeting/Oren Ben Hakoon
However, Netanyahu’s Likud party quickly rejected the accusation as “an absolute, repugnant lie” and threatened legal action, calling it a defamation attempt. The party denounced the claim as part of what they described as an ongoing degradation of discourse by the political left.
In the same panel discussion, Lazimi also questioned the funding for the prime minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, regarding her two-month stay abroad, inquiring about the source of the public funds used for her travel.
Yair Netanyahu’s departure from Israel in 2023 came amid significant political unrest, including the retracted firing of former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Initially reported to be residing in Puerto Rico, Netanyahu later relocated to an exclusive compound in Hallandale Beach, near Miami.
His legal representatives have argued that his stay abroad is a result of ongoing “persecution,” which they claim has made it impossible for him to lead a “normative life” in Israel.
Netanyahu’s lawyer has reiterated that the allegations against him are baseless and that his stay in the United States is rooted in personal and political challenges, not an exile imposed due to any wrongdoing. As legal battles continue, it remains clear that the accusations against Netanyahu are part of a broader political and public debate surrounding the Netanyahu family’s actions and their funding.
