Father of Freed Hostage Criticizes Finance Minister Smotrich Over Hostage Release Claims

Danny Miran, father of Amri Miran, a freed Israeli hostage, sharply criticized Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on 103fm radio for claiming that all hostages returned to Israel owe their release to him. Miran rejected Smotrich's assertion, stating, "If we really depended on him, the hostages would not be here." While acknowledging that Smotrich and his party initially supported the first hostage exchange deal, Miran accused them of later obstructing efforts to free the remaining captives. He recalled a parliamentary vote where 50 coalition members, including Smotrich's allies, opposed uniform compensation for returning hostages, a measure similar to that given to families of the victims of the Meron disaster. Miran said, "They wanted to give compensation without discrimination, but 50 coalition members voted against it, including Likud members, religious and Bedouin representatives."

Smotrich had claimed in an interview with Nadav Perry that all hostages who returned did so because of his insistence, arguing that without his pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, negotiations with Hamas would still be ongoing. This statement sparked public outrage, especially since Smotrich himself voted twice against release frameworks, some of which involved hostages who were later killed in captivity.

Following these remarks, Smotrich's planned visit to Kibbutz Be'eri was canceled due to strong opposition from residents and families of the October 7 victims, who demanded the kibbutz leadership bar his entry. The visit was part of a tour of communities near Gaza to assess rehabilitation needs and was to culminate with a cornerstone-laying ceremony for a new neighborhood in Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, which will proceed as scheduled.

Danny Miran also shared a personal update on his son Amri's condition after captivity, saying, "Amri will be fine. Yesterday I saw him playing with the children, which gave me great comfort. There is joy, but they still need to rebuild their home and family life."