Dani Miran, father of freed hostage Omri Miran, has decided to enter politics in the upcoming elections and will head the Pensioners Party.
In an interview with Radio 103FM on Sunday, Miran explained why he chose to run for Knesset.
“I won’t touch those issues. People saying ‘Bring down Bibi’ - that doesn’t interest me at all. I don’t support any political party," he said. “I’ve been approached in the past by political parties and I turned them down."
He added, “I know what the divisive issues are in the country today among the political parties. If we don’t take care of society, there will be a collapse among the elderly, young families who have to support their parents, and people with disabilities."
At the same time, he does not absolve the Prime Minister of responsibility for the major failure during which his son was kidnapped. “Everyone who was in power and in the military is responsible for October 7. Netanyahu should have resigned on October 8 - he is the Prime Minister, the man at the top of the pyramid is responsible. After all of Bibi’s statements about Olmert, sir - after such a failure, you just carry on?"
When asked if he had said this to Netanyahu personally, Miran replied, “I was with him in one meeting, and I didn’t want to go to any more meetings. I realized they weren’t telling me the whole truth."
He argued that “the problem in this country is that there is no social party. All the parties are busy fighting each other over who is bigger than the other, while large segments of the population are simply thrown aside and neglected - no matter which party is in power. I’m talking about the elderly, the disabled on the margins, and disadvantaged communities. They are never taken into account. When they raised the pensioners’ allowance, they increased it by six shekels - that’s insulting. There are people whose only income at the end of the month is what they receive from National Insurance - 2,500 shekels. They can’t make ends meet - they have to pay the municipal tax, medication, electricity, and water - and it’s gone. Their children have to support them."
Regarding the people who approached him to lead the party, Miran said: “These people - company executives and nursing home directors - they too are collapsing. They got together and came to me asking that I head the slate. I’m not interested in being a Knesset member, but this is the only way to make an impact."