Advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yonatan Urich, was criticized on Sunday by David Danino, brother of murdered Hamas hostage Uri Danino, during an interview on 103fm radio.
Danino’s criticism of Urich concerned a social media post the Netanyahu advisor made on Tuesday about Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, saying she had “spared him execution.”
“I go on Twitter and see the man making a joke,” said Danino. “I have no problem with a person saying whatever he wants about anything, saying that he is innocent and didn’t do it. But when you use the cynical words ‘spared me execution,’ while we all remember what happened there, it is infuriating.”
Danino made a post on X in response to Urich’s post, criticizing him for the comment.
“The purpose of my tweet was to try to bring him back down to earth, and for him to have a little shame on his face,” Danino said.
Danino says war and loss transformed his life
Turning to the topic of his brother’s murder at the hands of Hamas terrorists in Gaza, Danino further emphasized how hurtful Urich’s comments were to him.
“There were six hostages who were supposed to be released in the first deal on the 55th day,” said Danino. “There were two women there, a foreign citizen, and two who were wounded. They were taken from the tunnels to be released.”
“These people remained there for nearly another 300 days, and in the end, they were shot and executed in that dark tunnel,” he said. “And you write, ‘spared me execution?’”
He further discussed his experience since the war began in October 2023, saying the years have made him “a different person.”
“My older brother was my best friend, sometimes he was also my father; he was everything to me, and he is simply gone,” he said. “I chose a different path in life.”
Danino weighs in on haredi enlistment
Danino is now a law and criminology student at the Hebrew University and serves as a junior academic officer in the IDF.
“In the past, I argued with my brother over whether it was even permitted to enlist, and today I understand that everything is different,” added Danino.
Danino, who comes from the haredi education system, told 103fm he is “not disconnected” from the issue of haredi enlistment.
“If you sit and study in an absolute way, then sit and study,” he emphasized. “But if not, you are obligated like every other young person in the country.”
Danino concluded by discussing how his family dealt with the loss of his brother, though he began by offering condolences to the family of IDF Sgt. Noam Yanai, who died in battle last week.
Yanai served in the Rotem Battalion, the same battalion where Uri Danino began his military service.
“Every day is a new war; it never ends,” Danino explained. “Sometimes you see that someone cannot get up in the morning, and you understand that he is going to be in bed all day. What you can do is just tell him that you are with him.”
“It touches each person in a different place,” he added. “My father wants to commemorate more, and so does my mother, who travels a lot to the United States. My little sister, from an amazing and charming girl, became a girl who causes a bit of trouble, but thank God, she keeps us busy. It is a war that never ends.”
Source:
www.jpost.com
