This raises some more questions. First, why is the 26-year old man provided with bodyguards at all, and for a tour of strip-tease joints in particular?
Ya'ir has no official function. No son or daughter of any former prime minister has ever been provided with bodyguards. No known danger threatens this particular son. So why must I pay for one?
Second, what about the driver? Ya'ir was riding in a government car, driven by a government driver. Why? What right has he to a government car and to a government driver, in general -- and in particular for such an escapade?
The episode has drawn the attention of the public to this son of privilege.
Who is Ya'ir Netanyahu? What does he do for a living? The simple answer: Nothing.
He has no profession. He has no job. He lives in the state-owned official residence in Jerusalem and eats at the state's expense.
What about his record? The only service he ever performed was as a soldier at the office of the army spokesman -- not much risk of meeting flying bullets there. You need a lot of pull to land such a cozy job in the army.
Every reader can ask himself or herself: where was he or she when they were 26 years old?
Speaking for myself, at that age I had behind me several years of service in the Irgun underground, a year of continual fighting in a renowned army commando unit, a battle wound, and the beginning of my career as the editor-in-chief of a belligerent news magazine. I have earned my living since the age of 15. That is not something special to be proud of -- many young people of my generation have the same past (except the journalistic part, of course.)
STILL, THIS part of the story can be explained by the character of this particular young man. Can a parent be held responsible for the character of his offspring?
Like many politicians, Netanyahu had no time for his children. It's the mother who bears most of the responsibility.
Sarah Netanyahu, known as "Sarah'le," is generally disliked. A former airplane stewardess, who "caught" Binyamin at an airport duty-free shop and became his third wife, is a haughty and quarrelsome person, who is in perpetual conflict with her government-paid household personnel. Some of these quarrels reach the courts.
So this is all a family affair, except that it raises some profound political questions.
What is the social setting of the Prime Minister, himself the son of a poor university professor and a government employee for almost all his life?
His offspring consorts with the sons of the country's richest peoples, who are enriching themselves with the active help of the Prime Minister -- Netanyahu influences the government funding of big projects. At the moment, the police are conducting at least four separate investigations into Netanyahu's personal economic affairs.
Practically all of Netanyahu's personal associates and friends are under police investigation. His closest friend, lawyer and relative is under investigation concerning the acquisition of immensely expensive German-made submarines. The navy claims that it does not need all of them.
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