Zuli Giyungyushi, brother‑in‑law of slain ynet photographer Roy Idan and former Shin Bet agent Smadar Idan — who is raising their three orphaned children — on Thursday published a scathing post demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologize to the children, not to him.
In the post, shared a day after the memorial marking two years since Roy and Smadar were killed in the October 7 massacre, Giyungyushi wrote that he has held back criticism until all live hostages had returned home. “If I say the truth, people will immediately call me ‘leftist,’ ‘anti‑Bibi.’ But I’m not leftist — I’ve been with Likud since I first voted,” he said.
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Avigail Idan with Liron and Zuli, at the hospital
(Photo: Schneider Center Spokesperson)
He lamented that even though Abigail was kidnapped over a year ago, Netanyahu still has not picked up the phone to say: “Sorry, I failed.” Giyungyushi framed the apology not as a personal matter, but “for the three children left without parents.”
A self‑described Likud supporter and father of three, Giyungyushi added that Netanyahu’s failure to reach out politically missed an opportunity. “To take credit for achievements? Bibi is a master. To rush to be photographed with hostages? With joy. But for this father who was slaughtered like a lamb — no time to call? He should have found a moment to say, ‘I failed.’”
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Memorial for Roy Idan, ynet photographer, at the Kfar HaRif cemetery
(Photo: Shmulik Dodpour)
He said the only people who knocked on his door and acknowledged fault were high‑ranking officers who told him: “Sorry, I failed to protect your home.” He expected the same from Netanyahu.
Giyungyushi concluded by rejecting further political debate in the post, citing a promise to his children to remain measured. He urged all coalition members — and Netanyahu himself — to pause at the Idan family grave in Kfar HaRif and apologize aloud. “You can even film it and post it. That pause, perhaps, will do more than standing there like clowns shouting he’s a victim. I’m done.”