Hostage Victim's Brother Accuses MK of Hypocrisy Over Unity Tent

Dani Algratt, whose brother Itzik was murdered in Hamas captivity, has accused Member of Knesset Elisha Mardan of hypocrisy for establishing a "unity tent" near the Knesset. Algratt claimed Mardan did not stand by him in his struggle for the return of hostages, despite Mardan's own severe injuries sustained fighting in Gaza, where he lost both legs.

Algratt, a member of the Democrats party and brother of Itzik Algratt who was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in Hamas captivity, sharply criticized Likud MK Elisha Mardan for his decision to set up a unity tent near the Knesset building in Jerusalem. Algratt accused Mardan of hypocrisy, stating that Mardan had not supported him during his campaign for the hostages' release.

However, Mardan served as a reservist fighter in the Gaza Strip during the war, where he was critically wounded and lost both his legs. Algratt's post, which sparked controversy, began with "Elisha Mardan, this is hypocrisy, not unity." He elaborated, "When I went on a hunger strike for 180 days for the return of the hostages and an end to abandonment, I didn't see you stand by my side. I didn't hear you cry my cry, and I didn't see you carry the burden of the struggle with me."

Algratt continued, "Now you call for unity? Unity is not a slogan waved when it's convenient. It is measured precisely in moments when someone fights for the values you claim to believe in." He concluded his remarks with a further attack: "You call for unity, but when you were required to stand by someone fighting for the hostages, you were not there. This is not unity. This is hypocrisy."

Mardan's initiative to establish the unity tent came after he announced his intention to do so near the Knesset. "I'm starting. This Shabbat I made a decision. I'm going to Jerusalem to set up a tent near the Knesset with a call for unity," Mardan wrote. "I intend to sit in the tent day and night, in the cold and the rain, to express the voice of large parts of the nation that keep approaching me with a yearning for unity." Mardan explained the initiative's purpose: "I came to the Knesset to help this nation remain one. In recent years, we have seen what we are capable of when we are together, on the battlefield, on the home front, in volunteering, at home. It's time the parliament also looked like that."

Mardan invited the public, stating, "The tent is open to everyone. Come sit, have a hot cup of tea, and talk. See you at the tent." Mardan enlisted in the reserves on October 7, 2023, and participated in fighting in the Gaza envelope. He later joined the reserve battalion 697 in the Hazi Ha'esh reserve brigade, which operated in northern Gaza. On November 10, 2023, during an operation near Beit Hanoun, his unit was hit by an explosive device near a tunnel shaft. Four soldiers were killed in the incident, including the company commander, Major Moshe Yedidya Leiter. Mardan was critically wounded, and both his legs were amputated due to the explosion. After a lengthy hospitalization and rehabilitation, he began using prosthetics and has since promoted messages of unity and social cohesion.