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Yair Netanyahu

Yair Netanyahu
יאיר נתניהו‎
Netanyahu in May 2018
Born (1991-07-26) 26 July 1991 (age 33)
Jerusalem, Israel
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Podcaster, political activist
Known forSon of Benjamin Netanyahu
Political partyLikud
Parents
RelativesNathan Mileikowsky (great-grandfather)
Benzion Netanyahu (paternal grandfather)
Shmuel Ben-Artzi (maternal grandfather)
Elisha Netanyahu (grand-uncle)
Yonatan Netanyahu (uncle)
Iddo Netanyahu (uncle)
Nathan Netanyahu (first cousin once removed)

Yair Netanyahu (Hebrew: יאיר נתניהו; born 26 July 1991)[1][2] is an Israeli podcaster and political activist. He is the eldest son of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Biography

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Yair Netanyahu was born in Jerusalem to Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara.[3][4] He has a brother, Avner Netanyahu,[5] and a half-sister, Noa Netanyahu-Roth; Noa is Benjamin Netanyahu's daughter by his first wife, Miriam Haran née Weizmann.[6][7]

Netanyahu majored in Theatre at the High School for the Arts in Jerusalem before serving in the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.[8] He previously worked as social media director for Shurat HaDin, an Israeli NGO that provides legal services to victims of terrorist attacks.[9] After finishing his army service, Netanyahu studied international relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations.[8] Netanyahu also studied at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) in Herzliya and graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Government Studies.[10][11]

Netanyahu lived with his parents at Beit Aghion, the prime minister's official residence in Rehavia, Jerusalem.[12] They left after Netanyahu lost the 2021 election.[13]

In January 2014, a Norwegian newspaper reported that Netanyahu was dating Sandra Leikanger, a Norwegian student. The couple had met while they were students at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. The news triggered outrage because Leikanger was not Jewish.[14][11] In 2015, Netanyahu briefly dated Lee Levi, a Danish-Israeli model and student.[15][16]

In June 2022, Netanyahu received his press card from the Israeli Government Press Office.[17]

On 9 June 2024, the Netanyahu family asked the Security Advisory Committee to secure Benjamin Netanyahu's family by the Shin Bet, for the rest of their lives in a similar manner to how Benjamin Netanyahu is secured. The request included Sara, Yair and Avner. At the meeting it was decided not to discuss this while there is a war.[18]

Views and opinions

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According to Haaretz, Netanyahu uses social media "for the benefit of spreading lies, defamation and slander against those who are perceived in his eyes as enemies of the camp headed by his father".[19] He is known for defending his father on social media.[20][12][21] Netanyahu has also published his opinions in Breitbart News, an American far-right[22] news and opinion website.[23] In late 2017, Netanyahu posted a meme on Facebook portraying his father's political opponents as puppets controlled by George Soros; the meme garnered support from US white nationalists, including David Duke, and neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer which described itself as "The World’s #1 Yair Netanyahu fansite".[20][24][25] Netanyahu later deleted the post following backlash.[20]

In December 2018, he was suspended from Facebook for 24 hours after posting anti-Muslim content.[26][27][28] One of Netanyahu's comments read: "There will never be peace with those monsters in the form of men that have called themselves 'Palestinians' since 1964".[20]

In March 2019, he was asked to leave his work at the Israel Law Center, an NGO that provides legal services to terror victims, after criticizing President Reuven Rivlin for his efforts on behalf of Arab-Israeli coexistence.[9]

In May 2019, Netanyahu expressed support for right-wing nationalist figures Viktor Orbán, Matteo Salvini, Nigel Farage and Geert Wilders in the 2019 European Parliament election.[29] In the same month, some observers hypothesized that Netanyahu was looking for a job in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,[30] although Netanyahu has denied that he is looking for a political career.[20] In June 2019, Netanyahu met with Katrina Pierson, a senior advisor for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign.[9]

In July 2019, Netanyahu expressed support for British anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson, during the latter's imprisonment by British authorities.[31]

In September 2019, Netanyahu accused former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995, of having "murdered Holocaust survivors on the Altalena". The comments were disavowed by his father.[32][33][34] He has compared Roni Alsheikh, the Israel Police chief who played a role in the Netanyahu corruption investigations, to the fictional mobster Tony Soprano.[20] While being questioned by police during the investigations, Netanyahu called the police "Stasi" and "Gestapo" and said they were worse than the mafia. He also accused Nir Hafetz and Gideon Saar of various crimes.[35]

In May 2020, the far-right politician and Alternative for Germany (AfD) member Joachim Kuh used a quote from Netanyahu in his campaign graphics. Following this, Netanyahu urged the AfD to work towards stopping German funding for NGOs operating in Israel.[36]

In November 2020, Netanyahu launched his own right-wing podcast called The Yair Netanyahu Show, with episodes in both English and Hebrew.[37] His first guest was Brazilian politician Eduardo Bolsonaro, the third son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.[38]

After the Israeli military police in July 2024 visited Sde Teiman detention camp to detain nine Israeli soldiers suspected of abuse of a Palestinian prisoner, Netanyahu commented that the prosecution of the soldiers was "criminal and anti-Zionist."[39]

Controversy

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In January 2018, a scandal erupted when a recording of Netanyahu's visit to a Tel Aviv strip club in 2015 was leaked. In the recording, Netanyahu discussed strippers and referred to a controversial gas deal recently passed into law.[40][41] Netanyahu apologized for his remarks.[42] He filed a lawsuit for 1 million NIS ($272,000) against his driver, who allegedly recorded the conversation.[43]

On 7 July 2019, he won a libel suit against Israeli Labor Party activist Abie Binyamin for claiming that Netanyahu was hiding millions in offshore accounts.[44]

In November 2019, Netanyahu was sued for slander after sharing a Facebook post claiming that former Walla news site editor Avi Alkalay was a plant for the Wexner Foundation.[45] In February 2020, he was ordered to pay damages and legal costs totalling $81,000.[46][47] Netanyahu appealed the decision, but his appeal was rejected by the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court in July 2021.[48]

During the 2023 Israel-Hamas War it was reported that Netanyahu was living in Florida, while fellow countrymen living abroad returned to Israel in numbers to serve in the army.[49]

References

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  1. ^ "יאיר נתניהו – הארץ" [Yair Netanyahu]. Haaretz. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  2. ^ Online, Maarov (7 September 2017). המפגין שנתבע על ידי יאיר נתניהו: "אני מתנצל בפניו ובפני בני ביתו" (in Hebrew). Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Yair Netanyahu said to file complaint against chief investigator in Case 1000". The Times of Israel. Staff. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Yair Netanyahu said to call police 'Gestapo' during questioning in Bezeq case". The Times of Israel. Staff. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  5. ^ Gordon, Evelyn (17 March 2010). "Netanyahu Jr. wins National Bible Quiz". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 27 October 2011.
  6. ^ "Mazel Tov Mr. Prime Minister! Netanyahu's first grandson born". Haaretz. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  7. ^ Kalman, Matthew (10 April 2013). "Netanyahu's women and the making of Psychobibi". The Times of Israel Blogs. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  8. ^ a b Sadeh, Shuki (5 December 2016). "The rise of Yair Netanyahu, the 25-year-old who has the prime minister's ear". Haaretz. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b c Cortellessa, Eric (8 June 2019). "Yair Netanyahu meets with senior adviser for Trump reelection campaign in DC". Times of Israel. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  10. ^ Wiener-Bronner, Danielle (27 January 2014). "Netanyahu's Son's Girlfriend Is Not Jewish, and Israel Is Freaking Out". The Atlantic. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  11. ^ a b Newman, Marissa (27 January 2014). "Netanyahu's son sparks outrage". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  12. ^ a b Tarnopolsky, Noga (7 June 2019). "Benjamin Netanyahu's not-so-secret weapon: his son Yair, the Israeli leader's defender in chief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  13. ^ Krauss, Joseph (20 June 2021). "Netanyahu's moving out, but not soon enough for critics". Associated Press. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  14. ^ Federman, Josef (28 January 2014). "Love life of Israeli PM's son sparks uproar". Associated Press. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Strip club worker says Netanyahu's son was a customer for several years". Haaretz. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  16. ^ Spiro, Amy (9 January 2018). "Yair Netanyahu's ex: I'm ashamed we ever dated". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Announcing on his twitter account". www.twitter.com. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  18. ^ Walla. "דיווח: יאיר נתניהו מטייל בגואטמלה עם מאבטחי שב"כ". Walla. Walla. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  19. ^ "חידון המרקרים: הציטוטים של יאיר נתניהו" [TheMarker Quiz: Yair Netanyahu's quotes - and the relationship between them and the truth], TheMarker (in Hebrew), Haaretz, 28 January 2021, retrieved 14 March 2024, את כל הפלטפורמות הללו הוא מתעל בין היתר לטובת הפצת שקרים, הכפשות והשמצות כלפי מי שנתפש בעיניו כאויב של המחנה בראשו עומד אביו.
  20. ^ a b c d e f Wootliff, Raoul (27 October 2019). "The supporter closest to home: Yair Netanyahu's most incendiary tweets". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  21. ^ Holmes, Oliver (27 August 2020). "Yair Netanyahu: Israel's 'crown prince' leads fight to protect father". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  22. ^ Multiple sources:
  23. ^ Keidar, Nitsan (7 May 2019). "Yair Netanyahu: 'Land for Peace leads to Land for War'". Israel National News. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  24. ^ Berger, Miriam (11 September 2017). "Yair Netanyahu accused of antisemitism over Facebook post". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  25. ^ Beaumont, Peter (13 September 2017). "Netanyahu's son Yair draws fire after posting 'antisemitic cartoon'". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  26. ^ "Yair Netanyahu says he'd 'prefer' if 'all the Muslims leave' Israel". The Times of Israel. 15 December 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  27. ^ "Yair Netanyahu blocked on Facebook, anti-Muslim post removed". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  28. ^ Berger, Miriam (17 December 2018). "Netanyahu's son banned from Facebook over hate speech". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  29. ^ "Yair Netanyahu criticised over tweet backing Farage, Orban and Wilders". Times of Israel. 22 May 2019.
  30. ^ Itamar Eichner (27 May 2019). "Netanyahu's son makes waves dabbling in foreign policy". Ynetnews. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  31. ^ @yairnetanyahu (11 July 2019). "I support him too! Shame on Britain! Tommy is a political prisoner!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  32. ^ "Yair Netanyahu more dangerous than Rabin assassin Yigal Amir, says Labor head". Times of Israel. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  33. ^ Harkov, Lahav. "Netanyahu distances himself from son's remarks on Yitzhak Rabin". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  34. ^ "Netanyahu distances himself from son's remarks over assassinated Yitzhak Rabin". i24NEWS. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  35. ^ "Yair Netanyahu's turbulent investigation". Israel National News. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  36. ^ Sales, Ben (7 May 2020). "Yair Netanyahu is poster boy for a German far-right politician". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  37. ^ Hoffman, Gil (23 October 2020). "Yair Netanyahu: The rise of the son". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  38. ^ "יאיר נתניהו השיק פודקאסט משלו, והוא נשמע בדיוק כמו שאתם חושבים". Maariv (in Hebrew). 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  39. ^ Peleg, Bar; Solomon, Eden; Maanit, Chen; Kubovich, Yaniv (30 July 2024). "IDF Moves Troops to Base Where Violent Mob Protested Arrest of Soldiers for Abusing Gaza Detainee". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  40. ^ "'God Help Us if This Gets Out': The Full Transcript of Yair Netanyahu's Wild Tel Aviv Night". Haaretz. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  41. ^ "Netanyahu's son Yair to son of gas tycoon outside strip club: My dad set up $20b for your dad". Haaretz. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  42. ^ Beaumont, Peter (9 January 2018). "Netanyahu's son 'sorry' for boasts about gas deal outside strip club". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  43. ^ "Yair Netanyahu sues former driver for recording night of debauchery". The Times of Israel. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  44. ^ "Yair Netanyahu wins libel suit against government critic over Facebook post". The Times of Israel. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  45. ^ Sverdlov, Leon (1 March 2020). "Yair Netanyahu to pay NIS 250K to journalist following court ruling". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  46. ^ "Yair Netanyahu ordered to pay $81,000 to journalist in libel suit". The Times of Israel. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  47. ^ Bandel, Netael (1 March 2020). "Netanyahu's son Yair ordered to pay damages to journalist in libel suit". Haaretz. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  48. ^ "Court rejects Yair Netanyahu's appeal to cancel libel verdict against him". The Times of Israel. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  49. ^ "'Where is he?' Netanyahu's son draws backlash for being in US amid war". Times Of India.
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