By BEN ASHFORD IN HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
His father has called upon a record number of reservists to wage a brutal war against Hamas and purge the Gaza Strip of Jew-hating terrorists.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s older son Yair looks in no hurry to join their ranks as he’s seen loafing around a luxury Florida condo complex in world exclusive DailyMail.com photos.
The pampered Netanyahu scion – who is once said to have declared himself Israel‘s Prince Harry – is 32 years old and eligible for reserve duty until he turns 40.
But while 360,000 of his countrymen have answered the call, Yair is sitting out the fighting at a two-bed apartment in upscale Hallandale Beach, north of Miami and some 7,000 miles from the frontline.
Our images show Bibi’s boy lounging about in shorts and sweats, sipping drinks and entertaining pals on his $5,000-per-month rental’s expansive terrace.
His father last week promised ‘total victory’ over Hamas and ordered IDF troops to prepare for a major ground offensive into the densely populated southern Gazan city of Rafah.
But Netanyahu’s battle cry appeared lost on Yair and his guests, one of whom goofed about on a VR headset while another used his phone to snap photos of the panoramic sea and city views.
‘He likes to wage war – but via social media,’ scoffed Uri Misgav, a journalist for Israel’s left-leaning newspaper of record, Haaretz, and a longtime Netanyahu critic.
‘He is the lazy bum son who is partying in Miami while his Prime Minister father urges ordinary Israelis to sacrifice their own sons and lives.’
Reservists who abandoned studies, jobs and vacations in the US to race back to Israel similarly blasted Yair for not doing the same.
‘I was one of the few people eligible for combat on my flight but there were doctors, volunteers, and many people who just wanted to be there to support their families,’ said Tomer, a 23-year-old San Francisco university student who preferred not to give his full name.
‘I think most Israelis will tell you they felt a moral obligation to contribute. It’s embarrassing, more than anything, that such a prominent public figure doesn’t give a sh*t.’
Yair, a podcaster and outspoken social media activist, spent much of 2023 in the US and was hoping to secure residency prior to the October 7 massacre.
Despite the slaughter of 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians and ravers attending the Nova music festival, he opted to stay in Florida where he’s said to enjoy more freedom than in his homeland.
Yair finally bowed to public pressure and flew back to Tel Aviv In late November, where he was photographed manning phones for an NGO ambulance service.
But he was already back in the US by mid-January, DailyMail.com has learned, remaining largely out of sight at his plush pad a mile from the ocean and a short drive from Miami Beach.
Sources say Yair is guarded around the clock by two armed agents from Israel’s Shin Bet security service who accompany him to the gym, pool and whenever he leaves the swank high rise.
The complex boasts resort-style amenities including tennis courts, a spa, game lounge, private cinema, cigar room and wine cellar.
DailyMail.com understands that Yair is unable to get a job because he’s in the US on a tourist visa.
Instead, he stays up late taking to social media and Telegram to post pro-Netanyahu memes and bicker with his father’s political opponents, according to our sources.
The cost of protecting Yair on his overseas jaunts has reportedly swelled to a million shekels ($275,000) because his security agents have to be rotated in and out every two weeks.
‘It’s not just the money, these are young, strong, highly trained security people,’ added Misgav.
‘They could be here fighting for Israel but instead they are on babysitting duty.’
Yair has long been a polarizing figure in Israel, where critics claim he’s enjoyed the trappings of his family’s power and a playboy lifestyle without ever holding down a proper job.
The first of two sons of Netanyahu, 74, and his wife Sara, 65, Yair studied theatre at high school then completed his compulsory national service in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, rather than a combat role.
His Instagram page shows him traveling the globe and schmoozing the likes of Bill Clinton, Vladimir Putin and Donald and Melania Trump, supposedly acting as an unofficial political advisor for his dad.
But the International relations graduate is best known for trolling Netanyahu’s enemies online while being drawn into a series of controversies, from dating a non-Jewish girl to being secretly recorded in the back of a limo discussing strippers and prostitutes.
He’s been sued multiple times for defamation, paying out $34,000 to a woman he accused of having an affair with one of his father’s opponents and another $19,500 to a female lawmaker he called ‘ugly inside and out.’
Yair left Israel in early 2023 following reports that Netanyahu had banned him from using social media for denigrating Israelis opposed to controversial judicial reforms as ‘terrorists’.
He spent time in Puerto Rico and last April arrived in the US, where a tourist visa typically allows overseas visitors to stay for a maximum of six months.
Yair’s attorney, Uriel Hur Nizri, claimed in September that the want-away activist was living abroad due to ‘persecution’ in Israel.
And just days before the October 7 attacks, Melania Trump’s lawyer Michael Wildes announced that his firm was representing Yair ‘in connection with his international matters’, echoing reports in the Israeli media claiming that Yair was applying for a Green Card to secure US residency.
Following accusations that he had ‘abandoned’ his country, it was reported on November 28 that Yair was back in Israel and working as a fundraiser for ambulance service United Hatzalah, a development that took the NGO’s staff by surprise.
‘We have a link for people to register to volunteer and Yair registered,’ founder Eli Beer told the Jerusalem Post.
‘We thought it was someone playing a prank on us. But when the team got back to him, it was Yair, and he said he would volunteer to do anything.’
Within a month and a half, he had packed his bags, however, and made his way first to Hungary and then to the US on a diplomatic passport.
A spokesman for the Netanyahu family did not respond to questions about Yair’s life in the US or reveal whether he plans to stay for good, but told DailyMail.com: ‘It’s clear this is an agenda-driven political hit piece aimed at tarnishing Israel’s rightwing prime minister during war time by attacking his family.
‘Since the start of the war, Yair regularly volunteered to help organize aid efforts that sent supplies to Israel, did volunteer work at the logistics center for United Hatzalah in Israel and led fundraising efforts that among other achievements resulted in the purchase of two ambulances.
‘Yair spends his life defending Israel in the international arena, including in interviews, speeches, and social media.’
Attorney Wildes told DailyMail.com that he was unable to comment on his client’s immigration status.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants, says nearly 28,000 Gazans have been killed in Israel’s response to the October 7 atrocities.
Of the approximately 250 Israelis taken hostage by Hamas, only around 100 have been released.
At least 217 IDF soldiers have died in the fighting which shows no signs of abating despite US President Joe Biden last week describing Netanyahu’s campaign as ‘over the top.’
I just loved that pic at the source page, the one of Bibi and family with Pute. Such fellowship, camaraderie!!
Bibi be like… “Okay, Vlad, pretend you’re fightin’ for The Crimea and I’ll pretend I’m fighting for The Holy Land. Together we’ll get the whole enchilada. Dinner at 7:00? Your palace or mine?”
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