Likud Candidate Slams Hostage Survivor, Then Apologizes

A sharp confrontation erupted between Itzik Bonzel, a Likud party candidate for the Knesset, and Yocheved Lifshitz, a former hostage released by Hamas. The dispute began when Lifshitz claimed that billionaire Miriam Adelson, not Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was responsible for the release of hostages. Bonzel responded on Facebook with a harsh statement, saying, "I wish there was a way to return you to Hamas," and accused her of ingratitude towards fallen soldiers.

Lifshitz retorted that Netanyahu "sent his tank commander to incite against me," adding that "there is nothing lower and more despicable than Netanyahu's method of inciting and dividing the families of victims of the failure." Journalist Akiva Novik also criticized Bonzel, calling his claim that soldiers died to secure Lifshitz's release "ugly, idiotic, and nonsense." Novik pointed out that Lifshitz was released on October 23, 2023, before the ground offensive in Gaza began, and was transferred through the Rafah crossing, not rescued in a military operation.

Bonzel, a lawyer and activist, who is ranked 29th on the Likud's Knesset list, had initially stated in his post that "the one who extracted you from the darkness of the tunnels of Gaza was not Miriam Adelson, but hundreds of heroes who went into the inferno to bring you back alive, and some of them never returned." He further called her words "pathetic, infuriating, and disconnected."

Both individuals have experienced profound personal loss. Bonzel's son, Amit Bonzel, a soldier in the Paratroopers Brigade, was killed in Gaza on December 6, 2023. Lifshitz was abducted from her home in Nir Oz on October 7; her husband, Oded, died in captivity, and his body was returned to Israel in February 2025. Lifshitz accused Netanyahu of abandoning her husband and other hostages, stating, "I will not fear him or the group of inciters surrounding him."

Following Lifshitz's strong response, Bonzel retracted his remarks, reportedly stating, "I was in a storm of emotions, I did not mean it."