Danny Miran, the father of former Gaza hostage Omri Miran, sharply criticized Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich after he claimed in an interview with Nadav Perry that “all the hostages are here because of me.”
Speaking with Gideon Oko and Amichai Atali on 103FM radio, Miran criticized Smotrich over his conduct during the two years in which Israelis were held in Gaza.
Smotrich said in the interview that he was not hardhearted. Miran responded, “He is not hardhearted because he has no heart, and everything he says comes from a lack of thought. I don't know what drug he drank from his mother’s breast when he was a baby. He is taking credit for something he did not do. Had we really depended on him, the hostages would not be here.”
Miran acknowledged that Smotrich and his party’s ministers supported the first hostage deal, but said that Smotrich subsequently created obstacles to every attempt to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
“Members of Knesset proposed providing uniform compensation to hostages returning from Gaza, without the discrimination he practices in favor of his own sector,” the captivity survivor’s father said.
Smotrich is 'father of the hardhearted'
“They wanted to provide compensation similar to what was given to the families of those killed in the Meron disaster. Fifty coalition members voted against it, and 40 opposition members voted in favor. There are Likud members there, religious people, Bedouins, everyone,” he added.
“And he talks? ‘I am not hardhearted?’ He is the father of the hardhearted. He simply has no heart. His mind is hardened,” Miran said.
Miran later shared an update on Omri’s condition.
“Omri will be all right. I was at their home yesterday evening, and I saw him playing with the girls, and it gave me an extraordinary sense of comfort,” Miran said. “He is happy that his older daughter is already jumping on him and playing with him. There is joy in that home, but they still need to rehabilitate and rebuild it, first and foremost, their family unit.”
Miran to establish Knesset pensioners' party
Danny Miran recently announced that he intends to enter politics and head a new pensioners’ party ahead of the Knesset elections.
“This evening, we will announce the establishment of the party, along with its principles and direction. We have assembled an unusually diverse and high-quality list that is focused on this goal, caring for senior citizens, disadvantaged communities, and single mothers,” he said.
Asked whether any well-known figures had joined the list, Miran said they had not.
“I chose people who work on the ground, people who care, not big names,” he said.
Miran said that winning four seats would be considered an achievement.
“I believe we will reach six, based on the number of pensioners supporting us. We are working together with major pensioners’ organizations. They are all coming. They are with us,” he said.