JERUSALEM (JTA)– Yair Netanyahu, son of Israel’s prime minister, removed an anti-Semitic meme he posted on his Facebook page in response to criticism of his parents.
He removed the post without any public comment or apology. Other posts in response to the meme remain on his Facebook page, including at least one that retains part of the image.
The image, which in the post Netanyahu called the “food chain,” showed a photo of billionaire Jewish philanthropist George Soros holding the world on a fishing line in front of a lizard, which hangs the alchemy symbol in front of a Shylock-type image, who then holds a U.S. dollar in front of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, followed by photos of Israeli critics of his parents.
The meme had been altered but reportedly was anti-Semitic in origin and came from a right-wing Facebook page.
Yair Netanyahu’s post came after the announcement Friday by Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, that his mother, Sara Netanyahu, will be indicted on four counts of fraud for allegedly diverting some $100,000 in public funds for her family’s personal use. It is not the first time that his posts on his Facebook page have made him the subject of widespread criticism.
Last month, in the wake of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, he wrote on social media that American left-wing groups — the anti-fascist Antifa movement and the Black Lives Matter movement against systemic racism — are more dangerous than neo-Nazis.
The Israel office of the Anti-Defamation League on Sunday said the meme posted Friday evening “contains blatantly anti-Semitic elements,” and said dangers in anti-Semitic images such as that one should not be underestimated.
The Daily Stormer in an article headlined “Netanyahu’s Son Posts Awesome Meme Blaming the Jews for Bringing Down his Jew Father” called Yair Netanyahu a “total bro.”
“Welcome to the club, Yair – absolutely amazing, wow, just wow,” tweeted former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke.
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