Einav Zangauker says she and other hostages’ relatives under attack by ‘poison machine’

Einav Zangauker, the firebrand mother of freed hostage Matan Zangauker, says that since her son’s return, she and her family have been under attack by the “poison machine” — a term often used by critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to describe what they say is a network of propagandists for the premier in the media and social media devoted to spreading incitement and personal attacks to manipulate public opinion.

Zangauker has continued to criticize the government’s conduct since her son’s release from Gaza, demanding fully independent and wide-ranging investigations into the failures of Oct. 7 — which Netanyahu and his allies are resisting. This has made her a target for supporters of the Israeli leader.

“The poison machine, with its mouthpieces in the media and on social networks, is trying to intimidate the families of captivity survivors — and me in particular,” she writes on X.

“Their goal is clear: They want to rewrite history by smearing the heroic struggle we led together with millions of Israelis. That same struggle that prompted President Trump to act and force Netanyahu and Hamas into the agreement to end the war and bring the hostages home,” she says. “The method is always the same — campaigns full of lies, slander, and defamation against us, the families.”

Zangauker adds: “I will not accept this violence — and I will not be intimidated by the organized smear campaign. The public is not foolish and sees that this is a coordinated, funded political campaign meant to deter me from continuing the fight for the hostages and the fallen, and to deter all the families of October 7 from demanding the truth about the failures through a state commission of inquiry.”