Israel PM Son Serves in the Army, Unlike in India: Fact Check

Story:

Israel PM Son Severs in Army, Unlike Indian Politician Sons who lead a luxurious life before joining politics.

Other Versions

In India, Children of Politicians Live A Luxurious Life And Later Join Politics.

But The Son Of Israel’s Prime Minister Serves In The Army To Defend His Country.

That’s The Difference.

Fact Check:

A picture message spread online claims to show Israel PM Son Serves in the Army, while children of politicians in India lead a luxurious life and later join politics. It also claims to show the difference on how the son of Israel’s Prime Minister is willing to defend his country. No, the claims are not entirely true and explained here.

Freed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit walks with the Prime Minister and others

Not Photograph of Israel PM Son Serving in Army

Despite the popularity of the picture messages, the person in it is not the son of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The young man saluting the Israel PM is in fact Gilad Shalit, a soldier of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who was captured by Hamas militants in 2006. The photograph is taken on 18th October 2011 when he was released as part of a prisoner exchange deal. Note, the story in question also appears on meme websites apart from social media and image sharing platforms. They also carry an image of Rahul Gandhi in the same photograph of soldier.

There’s another, similar picture message in circulation showing the actual son of Israel’s prime minister from December 2014.

The photograph shows Israeli tradition, when Avner Netanyahu, the youngest son of Benjamin Netanyahu was joining Israel Defense Forces. He joined the military service in army accompanied by his parents. Notably, like The Jerusalem Post website jpost.com reports, Israeli Security Service Law 1949 makes it mandatory for all Israelis who turn 18 to join military service. There are some exemptions like in case of the ultra-Orthodox and Arab Israelis.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, with their sons Yair (R) and Avner (2L), at Jerusalem’s Ammunition Hill

Avner Netanyahu served in the Combat Intelligence Collection Corps and finished his mandatory Israel Defense Force (IDF) service in November 2017. So, the messages in circulation – comparing two different scenarios in India and Israel – are inaccurate and misleading. Some of the politician sons in India do serve in the defense forces.