Yair Netanyahu, the son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has reportedly changed his name to Yonatan Hon, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Tax documents cited by the report indicate that while he was listed under his former name until December 2024, he was registered with the new name this year, using the same identification number and a consistent fictitious address, “Balfour 0.”
The surname “Hon” reportedly originates from the original name of his maternal grandfather, Shmuel Hon, who was the father of Sara Netanyahu, though the grandfather later changed his name to Ben Artzi. This reported name change occurs amid significant political and legal scrutiny surrounding the Netanyahu family.
Benjamin Netanyahu faces international criticism and an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court concerning allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity, in addition to ongoing corruption trials within Israel. Yair Netanyahu has previously faced controversy regarding his activities in the United States and his associations with far-right figures. In 2018, a recording surfaced where he reportedly boasted about his father’s involvement in a multi-billion dollar gas deal benefiting a wealthy businessman.
The practice of changing names within the family is not unprecedented. Yair’s brother, Avner Netanyahu, changed his surname to Avi Segal several years ago and subsequently purchased property in Oxford, England, under that name. Benjamin Netanyahu himself utilized the name Ben Nitai during a visit to the United States in the 1980s.
Furthermore, the tradition of surname alteration extends further back; Benjamin Netanyahu’s father, Benzion Mileikowsky, adopted the surname Netanyahu after relocating from Poland to Palestine during the 1920s under the British Mandate, a practice noted by Haaretz as common among Zionist settlers replacing European surnames with Hebrew ones.
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