Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu early Wednesday condemned the attacks on Noa Argamani, a hostage who was rescued last month from captivity in Gaza and joined him with her father Yakov on his trip to Washington to voice the hostages' plea.
Speaking at an event with evangelical leaders, Netanyahu said he was "shocked by the campaign against her."
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Noa Argamani and her father, Yaakov, met Benjamin Netanyahu last month immediately after she was freed from Hamas captivity
(Photo: GPO)
"Noa endured torment in Hamas captivity, longing to return to her mother before she died. And now, as she stands with the prime minister in Israel's official delegation for a crucial speech before Congress, she faces a campaign against her with messages like 'shame you left captivity.' Is there no limit to this madness? Enough is enough."
The Argamanis have come under fire for joining Netanyahu and his wife Sara on their visit to the United States, facing attacks from media figures among others.
"I would have preferred she remained in captivity and Zamora was alive. Why did he fall, why did he sacrifice his life, so her father, the Bibist, could lead Noa to the Netanyahu family's lavish plane?" businessman Roni Mana wrote on X, referring to Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora of the Yamam counterterrorism unit who fell in the high-stakes operation to rescue Argamani and three other hostages from captivity in Gaza.
Mana later deleted the post and apologized, saying, "I want to apologize to Noa Argamani for the things I wrote about her. There is no place for that, and I ask for her forgiveness."
Uri Misgav, a journalist for daily newspaper Haaretz, wrote, "Noa Argamani and her father should be ashamed of agreeing to be a backdrop on the flight of this deranged, smiling couple, especially on the morning we learned of two more hostages who died in captivity and did not fly to Washington with the hostage abandoner."
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The Argamanis boarding the prime minister's plane to Washington
(Photo: Itamar Eichner)
Misgav referred to hostages Alex Dancyg and Yagev Buchshtab who were pronounced dead by the IDF on Monday.
Media figure Dan Margalit concurred, posting, using Netanyahu's nickname, "Shame on Noa Argamani and her father for willingly serving as props for Bibi's display in Washington."
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum condemned the attacks against families of the hostages, particularly targeting Argamani and her father. "The decision to join the prime minister's delegation to Washington is a personal one for each family. Noa Argamani was brutally abducted and held captive for 246 days by Hamas. We should not judge her decision to fly and advocate for the 120 hostages," read their statement.
"Our position remains that we are in the final stretch of signing the deal and we anticipate the prime minister's speech in Congress, hoping it will bring news of an agreement to return all hostages - the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for proper burial in their homeland."
Condemnations of the attacks came from across the political spectrum. Gideon Sa'ar, one of the leaders of the National Unity Party, wrote, "Those attacking Noa Argamani and her father believe they are upholding some kind of moral standard. The truth is the opposite: this is the lowest point of moral degradation. The attempt to divide the hostages and their families along political lines is despicable. Those who act this way reveal that they see the hostages merely as tools for achieving entirely different goals."
Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats Party, also condemned the attacks, writing, "The condemnations against Noa Argamani are unfair. Do not judge your friend until you stand in their place. Noa was held captive by Hamas for 246 days. None of us can understand the hell she went through. The prime minister took an unnecessary show flight. He abandons the hostages, but I respect Noa's decision to join him. Leave her alone."
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar of Netanyahu's ruling Likud Party expressed outrage over the attacks on Argamani and the families of hostages who joined Netanyahu. "The vicious assault on Noa Argamani and the hostages' families is shocking and extremely serious in my view," Zohar wrote on X. "The hostages have endured and continue to endure a brutal ordeal, and yet some among us are willing to stoop to disgraceful levels, all in the name of their cultivated hatred."
Fellow Likud member Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli also condemned the attacks. "246 days in Hamas captivity, a partner still held hostage in Gaza, a mother who passed away less than a month ago from a severe illness, yet Haaretz journalists feel entitled to grade the Argamani family. It's an abyss of malice, baseless hatred and insensitivity. Unprecedented shame."
Chikli was referring to Argamani's partner, Avinatan Or, who was kidnapped along with her from the Nova music festival on October 7 and remains in captivity, and her mother Liora Argamani, who passed away earlier this month after a long bout with cancer.
MK Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionist Party addressed Roni Mana's comments in the Knesset plenary session. "I can't even begin to imagine the depraved mindset of someone who speaks this way about a released hostage," he said.
Labor MK Gilad Kariv responded, "The hostages and the bereaved families should be beyond the scope of criticism. But my friends on the right, in the same breath, what about the beam in your own eye? Netanyahu has spent 30 years establishing his rule and status through a well-orchestrated machine of incitement and delegitimization."
The Hope Forum of Hostage Families, which advocates for the release of hostages through military pressure on Hamas as opposed to a diplomatic agreement, said in a statement, "We want to support Noa Argamani and her father, Yaakov. Noa, who went through hell for many long months, is a hero of Israel. On behalf of the families in the Hope Forum, we want to strengthen Noa and call on her to continue representing Israel on every platform. Show and tell the world your moving personal story, which has become a national story."