Benjamin Netanyahu- Israeli statesman and politician. Leader of the Likud party (1993−1999 and since 2005). Benjamin Netanyahu was the Prime Minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999. Since 2009, Netanyahu is again the Prime Minister of Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu also served as Israel's finance minister three times.
Benjamin Netanyahu's Early Life and Education
Father - Benzion Netanyahu(Mileikovsky) - the son of immigrants from Belarus, a historian by training, a professor. Netanyahu's biography says his father was the personal secretary of the writer and Zionist ideologist Zeev Jabotinsky.
Mother - Tsilya Netanyahu(Segal) - born in 1912 in Petah Tikva (Ottoman Palestine, now Israel).
Binyamin's older brother Jonathan Netanyahu- national hero of Israel. He died during Operation Entebbe to free Israeli hostages.
Younger brother - Ido Netanyahu- radiologist and writer.
Netanyahu's paternal grandfather - Netan(Netanyahu) Mileikovsky- was a rabbi in Russia.
In the late 50s and 60s of the last century, the Netanyahu family alternately lived in Israel and in the United States. My father taught history. Benjamin completed high school in the United States. In 1967, Netanyahu returned to Israel. Binyamin was supposed to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. During his service, Netanyahu participated in several military operations on foreign soil. Even then, there was room for serious trials in the politician’s biography. Benjamin Netanyahu was wounded twice, including during the operation to free a Sabena plane hijacked by Palestinian terrorists on May 9, 1972.
After completing his military service with the rank of captain, Benjamin returned to the United States in 1972 to pursue higher education. Benjamin Netanyahu entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to major in architecture. But at the beginning of the Yom Kippur War (1973), Benjamin Netanyahu interrupted his studies and took part in hostilities in the Suez Canal area and the Golan Heights.
In 1975, Benjamin received his bachelor's degree. Next, Benjamin Netanyahu continued his studies and received a master's degree in management from MIT Sloan in 1977. While working for the Boston Consulting Group, Netanyahu simultaneously studied political science at Harvard University and MIT.
Benjamin Netanyahu's political career
Benjamin Netanyahu did not stay in the USA. In 1977 he returned to Israel. Benjamin closely monitored the situation in the country; he was concerned about the unstable political situation in Israel. And during this period, Netanyahu created the “Institute of Anti-Terrorism named after Y. Netanyahu”, and this is where his biography as a politician began.
Benjamin Netanyahu devoted a lot of time to international conferences on the fight against terror. New acquaintances appeared in the person of famous Israeli politicians. In 1982, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Moshe Arens appointed Netanyahu as his deputy. Benjamin Netanyahu began to write political articles and books in which he shared his views on the situation in Israel. They were printed in the USA, France and, of course, in Israel.
Netanyahu was a member of the first Israeli delegation to strategic talks with the United States in 1983.
In 1984, Benjamin Netanyahu served as ambassador to the UN. Benjamin remained in this position until 1988. From 1988 to 1990, Netanyahu served as deputy foreign minister, and then he was appointed minister in the Ministry of the Head of Government (1990−1992).
In 1993, Benjamin Netanyahu was elected leader of the Likud party and became the head of the opposition.
It was only in 1996 that direct elections for a prime minister were held for the first time in Israeli history. Of the two candidates (Binyamin Netanyahu and Shimon Peres) Netanyahu won. Benjamin Netanyahu's election campaign was led by an American political strategist Arthur Finkelstein. His style was edgy and unusual for Israel.
Netanyahu became the youngest prime minister in Israeli history. Benjamin Netanyahu began by forming a coalition government. He attracted religious parties (Shas, Yahadut HaTorah) to this, since his Likud party did not gain a majority in the Knesset. The work was difficult - the leaders of religious parties demanded that the young prime minister not cede territories and exempt religious Jews from military service. But Netanyahu said that Israel will comply with previously signed agreements, including the Oslo agreements.
Immediately after the formation of the government, Benjamin Netanyahu proved in word and deed that he would continue the peace process. On November 11, 1997, in Hebron, Netanyahu met with the Chairman of the Palestinian National Authority Yasser Arafat. The main result of the meeting was the transfer of 97% of the territory of Hebron to the Arabs. The remaining 3% of the city (in the immediate vicinity of the Cave of the Forefathers), although it remained accessible to the Israelis, was also declared a territory of Arab residence or, more precisely, mixed (in 24-hour danger) residence of Arabs and Jews.
During his reign, Benjamin Netanyahu supported a market economy and free enterprise, and as part of this policy, he began changing the taxation system and redistributing government benefits.
Scandals with Benjamin Netanyahu
A major scandal on the Israeli political scene was the appointment of Israel's Attorney General Roni Bar-On, who was considered a low-class lawyer, allegedly appointed only due to his political connections. Bar-On remained at his post for less than a day.
Another scandal with Netanyahu was the failure of the Mossad to eliminate one of the prominent figures in the Hamas movement. Khaled Mashaal. In addition to deteriorating relations with Jordan, relations with Canada also deteriorated, as Israeli special agents entered Jordan using Canadian passports.
The construction of the Jewish neighborhood of Har Homa in southern Jerusalem has also been criticized. Yasser Arafat said he will not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu until construction stops. This led to a halt in peace negotiations.
Leaving and continuing a political career
Netanyahu lost early elections in 1999 Ehud Barak and announced his retirement from politics.
In total, Benjamin Netanyahu served as Israel's Minister of Finance 3 times. He resigned from this post on August 9, 2005 in protest against the withdrawal of Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip. In December 2005, Netanyahu again became the leader of the opposition in the Knesset.
In 2007, Benjamin Netanyahu won 73% of the vote in the internal elections of the Likud party.
In 2009, when a new government was being formed in Israel, the country was visited by Hillary Clinton. Clinton noted that "the United States will work with any government that represents the democratic will of the people of Israel."
In 2009, Benjamin Netanyahu again became Prime Minister of Israel. Same year Barack Obama demanded that the new government resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict within 2 years. On June 21, 2009, Obama proposed his plan for a Middle East settlement. Netanyahu expressed agreement to the creation of a Palestinian state with limited rights. There were also conditions under which the Palestinians must recognize Israel as the national home of the Jewish people, as well as receive guarantees of Israeli security, including international ones.
Benjamin Netanyahu also met several times with the American special envoy for peace in the Middle East. George Mitchell, which called on Israel for new negotiations, despite the Palestinians' refusal to resume them and the negative reaction of Israeli society in response to the terrorist attacks.
Is Jerusalem the capital of Israel?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reaction to the US President's statement Donald Trump recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was expected. He called Trump's decision "courageous and just" and promised to work with the United States president to achieve peace with Palestine and other neighbors. He also called on other countries to follow the US example and move their diplomatic missions to Jerusalem.
And yet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has introduced an unspoken ban on government members from speaking publicly about US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the state. The Minister for Jerusalem Affairs and National Heritage told reporters about this ban. Zeev Elkin, the Nation News news agency reported.
Personal life of Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu has been married three times. First wife Miriam Weizman, whom he met in Boston, gave birth to his daughter Noah.
In 1982, Benjamin married for the second time to Fleur Cates.
In 1991, Netanyahu married the daughter of a famous Israeli educator. Shmuel Ben-Artzi- Sarah. Binyamin's Wikipedia biography states that Sarah was a flight attendant for El Al on a flight to New York when they met. Netanyahu's third wife was born in 1958, received her education as a psychologist in 1984, and defended her master's degree in 1996.
In his third marriage, Netanyahu has two sons - Yair and Avner.
In 1993, Benjamin Netanyahu admitted on air that in his personal life there was a relationship with Ruth Bar, his public relations advisor. Netanyahu said he was being blackmailed with a recording of his sex with Ruth if he did not leave politics. Benjamin Netanyahu and Sarah survived this difficult moment in their personal lives, their marriage survived.
At the same time, in 1996, the news reported about another politician’s mistress, allegedly an Italian woman had been present in Netanyahu’s personal life for 20 years Katherine Price-Mondadori. Benjamin Netanyahu this time was outraged by the invasion of privacy, again accusing political rivals of looking for dirt. At the same time, in Israel they are calm about scandals of this kind.
In the same time Sarah Netanyahu closely monitors negative news about herself, and has twice won libel cases from local publications. Sarah also filed a lawsuit against one of the TV channels, which reported about the large expenses of Netanyahu’s wife in London on luxury goods.
In January 2010, a Netanyahu family housewife sued Sarah, the woman complained of wage withholding, unfair working conditions and insults. In 2014, a similar lawsuit was filed by the family’s ex-bodyguard. In February 2016, a Jerusalem court sentenced Sara Netanyahu to a fine of 170 thousand shekels for this lawsuit.
Place of Birth. Education. Military service. Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu was born on October 21, 1949 in Tel Aviv in the family of Benzion Netanyahu (Mileikovsky), a history professor and personal secretary of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the son of immigrants from Belarus, and Tsilya Netanyahu (Segal). Benjamin is their second son. In the late 1950s and 1960s. his family lived alternately in Israel and in the United States, where Benzion Netanyahu taught. Benjamin graduated from high school there. After graduating in 1967, Netanyahu returned to Israel to serve in the Israel Defense Forces.
He served in the elite sabotage and reconnaissance unit Sayeret Matkal. Participated in several military operations on the territory of enemy countries, including a raid on Beirut airport, and in the battle of Karam. He was wounded twice, including during the operation to free a Sabena airline plane hijacked by Palestinian terrorists on May 9, 1972.
After finishing his service in 1972 with the rank of captain, he returned to the United States to pursue higher education. Netanyahu received a bachelor's degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1975, a master's degree in management from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1977, and then studied political science at Harvard University and MIT. While studying, Netanyahu worked for the Boston Consulting Group.
After the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War (1973), Netanyahu interrupted his studies and took part in hostilities in the Suez Canal area and the Golan Heights.
Career. After finishing his studies in 1977, Netanyahu returned to Israel. From 1976 to 1982, Netanyahu worked in private business. At first, he was a member of the international advisory group of the Boston Consulting Group, and then was a member of the board of directors of the Israeli company Rim Taasiyot Ltd.
Political career. In 1979 and 1984, at the initiative of Netanyahu, two international conferences on the problems of combating terrorism were organized. In 1982, Benjamin Netanyahu was appointed head of the political section of the Israeli Embassy in the United States, and from 1984, for four years, he served as Israel's representative to the United Nations.
After returning to Israel in 1988, Benjamin Netanyahu was elected to the Knesset from the Likud party. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir appoints him Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel.
In 1992, Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir resigned after the party lost the elections. In the primaries, Netanyahu manages to become the leader of the party, defeating Benny Begin, the son of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and David Levy. Initially, Ariel Sharon also ran for the election of the head of Likud, but he withdrew his candidacy due to unpopularity in the party. In 1993, Netanyahu also became leader of the opposition in the Knesset. In 1993, he spoke out against it after the signing of the Oslo Accords, accusing the Labor Party government led by Yitzhak Rabin of not taking a tough stance against Arab terrorism. The Likud Party also opposed the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
In 1993, Netanyahu was elected chairman of the Likud party and led the parliamentary opposition. In 1996, Israel held direct elections for a prime minister for the first time in the history of the state. In May 1996, he won the election of the head of government and became Prime Minister of Israel. Netanyahu became the youngest prime minister in Israeli history.
He concluded an agreement with the Palestinians on Hebron on November 11, 1997, within the framework of which he transferred to them most (97%) of the city. In 1998, through the mediation of US President Bill Clinton, he concluded the Wye Plantation Agreement with Yasser Arafat, according to which the Palestinians received 13% of the territories of Judea and Samaria (Area A), including areas adjacent to Palestinian cities and areas with massive Palestinian population. The Hasmonean tunnel opened in 1996, which led to a series of clashes with Palestinians.
In the economic sphere, Prime Minister Netanyahu pursued a policy of liberalization, which affected, first of all, the currency sector. During his tenure as head of government, state-owned concerns were privatized, and the budget deficit was significantly reduced.
In 1999, he lost early elections to Ehud Barak and announced his retirement from politics. After completing his premiership, Netanyahu worked as an adviser to a number of large high-tech firms, and was also often invited as a lecturer at various international forums.
In 2001, he refused to participate in the direct elections of the Prime Minister due to the Knesset’s refusal to dissolve itself. In 2002, Netanyahu returned to political activity. He announced his return to politics on the eve of the elections, but lost to Ariel Sharon in the election for the head of Likud. Sharon appointed Netanyahu as foreign minister in 2002 and then as finance minister after elections in 2003. As finance minister, Netanyahu continued to strengthen the private sector at the expense of the public sector. Netanyahu's fiscal policies included cutting government spending, cutting taxes, cutting social benefits and breaking up monopolies. Netanyahu also carried out pension reform. The reforms were of great importance for the country's banking system and led to GDP growth. Netanyahu's economic policies have led to an end to the economic recession, reduced unemployment and increased economic growth.
In August 2005, on the eve of the start of the disengagement plan, Netanyahu resigned from the government in protest and became the head of the internal party opposition. In September 2005, Sharon and a group of supporters left Likud and created a new party, Kadima. In the Likud leadership election in November, Netanyahu easily wins and once again becomes the party's leader and its candidate for prime minister. In March 2006, the Likud party received only 12 seats in the parliamentary elections and refused to join Ehud Olmert's coalition. After the formation of the government, Netanyahu became the leader of the opposition.
On September 17, 2008, internal elections were held in the Kadima party, and Tzipi Livni was elected head of the party. In this regard, the current head of the Kadima party and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resigned. After Olmert resigned, Israeli President Shimon Peres announced early elections to the Knesset.
In the parliamentary elections on February 10, 2009, the Likud party, led by Netanyahu, took 2nd place after Kadima, receiving 27 seats in parliament. However, given that Kadima received only one seat more, and that a viable Kadima coalition could not be created, Israeli President Shimon Peres on February 20 instructed Netanyahu to form a government. Netanyahu invited Tzipi Livni to join the government of national unity. The main reason for Livni’s refusal to join the government was Netanyahu’s refusal to include the “Two states for two peoples” formula in the government’s founding documents. The government that Netanyahu created became one of the largest in the history of Israel and includes 30 ministers and 9 deputy ministers from the parties: Likud, Our Home Israel, Labor, Shas, Mafdal and Torah Jewry.
In early March 2009, during the formation of the new government, the Barack Obama administration, elected in late 2008, visited Israel for the first time as Secretary of State. During her visit, Clinton condemned the demolition of houses illegally built by Arabs in East Jerusalem, calling such steps "useless." Despite differences between Clinton, who spoke out for the early creation of a Palestinian state, and Netanyahu's emerging coalition, which opposed "granting the PNA the status of an independent state at this time," Clinton noted that "the United States will work with any government that represents the democratic will of the people of Israel." .
Shortly after taking the oath of office, the new Israeli government was faced with the US President's demand to resolve the conflict within 2 years. On June 21, Netanyahu presented his plan for a Middle East settlement, within the framework of which he agreed to the creation of a Palestinian state with limited rights and in the event that the Palestinians recognize Israel as the national home of the Jewish people and receive security guarantees for Israel, including international ones. The Obama administration has repeatedly put pressure on Israel to stop the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu also met several times with the American special envoy for peace in the Middle East, George Mitchell, who called on Israel for new negotiations, despite the Palestinians’ refusal to resume them and the negative reaction of Israeli society in response to the terrorist attacks.
On March 17, 2015, early parliamentary elections were held, in which the Likud party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, received thirty mandates. Netanyahu holds the second longest tenure as prime minister in Israeli history.
On November 14, 2018, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned, after which on November 18, Netanyahu announced that he had assumed the position of the country's defense minister.
Family. Benjamin Netanyahu has been married three times. He met his first wife Miriam (Miki) Weitzman (currently Haran) while working in Boston (USA), and has a daughter (Noah) from his first marriage. In 1982 he married a second time, to Flor Cates. In 1991, Netanyahu married for the third time to Sarah Ben-Artzi, daughter of the famous Israeli educator Shmuel Ben-Artzi. Sarah is a psychologist by training and works in a psychological support service in Jerusalem. From his third marriage, Netanyahu has two children: sons Yair and Avner.
His older brother, Yonatan (Yoni) Netanyahu, a national hero of Israel, died during the operation to free Israeli hostages in Entebbe. Dr. Ido Netanyahu's younger brother is a radiologist and writer. Benjamin's grandfather was the Russian rabbi, Zionist preacher, Netan (Netanyahu) Mileikovsky.
Publications. Articles on political topics written by B. Netanyahu were published in such publications as the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Le Monde, Time weekly magazines and many others. Author of several books on political topics.
Benjamin Netanyahu, also known as Bibi, is an Israeli politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister twice (1996-1999 and 2009). He is also a member of the Knesset and chairman of the Likud party.
Benjamin Netanyahu: biography
Born on October 21, 1949 in Tel Aviv, Israel, in the family of historian Benzion Netanyahu and Tsilya Segal. He grew up and studied in Jerusalem. Benjamin Netanyahu moved to the United States with his family in his youth, to the Philadelphia suburb of Cheltenham. Here he studied and graduated from high school.
Enlisting in the Israeli army in 1967, Benjamin Netanyahu (photo later in the article) became a soldier in the elite Sayeret Matkal special forces unit and was part of the team that participated in the release of a hijacked plane at Tel Aviv airport in 1972. He later attended MIT (graduated in 1976), but took a leave of absence to fight in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Following the death of his brother Jonathan during a successful raid in Entebbe in 1976, Benjamin founded an institute in his name, which funded conferences on counter-terrorism.
Netanyahu worked in embassies until he was elected to the Israeli Knesset parliament from the Likud party in 1988. He was Deputy Foreign Minister (1988-1991) and then Deputy Minister in Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's coalition cabinet (1991-1992). In 1993, he easily won the election as leader of the Likud party, replacing Yitzhak Shamir. Netanyahu rose to prominence for his opposition to the 1993 peace accords with the Palestine Liberation Organization, which resulted in Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Victory 1996
Electoral support for the ruling Workers' Party declined in the 1996 elections following the assassination of Rabin in November 1995 and a series of suicide bombings in early 1996. In the first direct elections on May 29, 1996, Netanyahu defeated Shimon Peres with a margin of about 1% of the votes. Having formed a government, he became the youngest prime minister of Israel.
During Netanyahu's tenure in office, the country experienced unrest. Relations with Syria deteriorated soon after he took office, and a decision in September 1996 to open an ancient tunnel near the Al-Aqsa Mosque angered Palestinians and sparked heavy fighting. Netanyahu then changed his tune on the 1993 peace accords and in 1997 agreed to withdraw troops from most of the West Bank city of Hebron.
Coalition pressure, however, forced the prime minister to announce his intention to create new Jewish settlements on land that the Palestinians considered theirs. He also significantly reduced the amount of land that was to be given to Palestinians during the next phase of Israeli troop withdrawal from the West Bank. Violent protests began, including a series of explosions.
In 1998, Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat took part in peace talks that led to the Wye River Memorandum, the terms of which included bringing 40% of the West Bank under Palestinian control. The agreement was opposed by right-wing groups in Israel, and several factions left the coalition. In 1998, the Knesset dissolved the government and new elections were scheduled for May 1999.
Government scandals
Netanyahu's re-election campaign has been hampered by the disunity of the right wing, as well as growing voter dissatisfaction with inconsistent peace policies and his often controversial style. In addition, a series of scandals erupted in his administration, which included the appointment in 1997 of Roni Bar-On, a Likud party functionary, as prosecutor general. After allegations were made that Bar-On wanted to arrange a deal with justice for a Netanyahu ally accused of fraud and bribery, a series of votes of no confidence were passed in the Knesset. With the prime minister's main political support eroded, he was easily defeated by Ehud Barak, leader of the Labor party, in the 1999 elections.
In Sharon's Shadow
In 1999, Netanyahu was replaced as head of the party by Ariel Sharon, but he remained popular. When early elections were called in 2001, Binyamin resigned from his seat in the Knesset and was therefore ineligible to run for prime minister. Netanyahu made a failed attempt to remove Sharon. In the latter's government, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (2002-2003) and Minister of Finance (2003-2005).
In 2005, Sharon left Likud and formed the centrist Kadima. Netanyahu was subsequently elected leader of the party, but did not become prime minister after the 2006 Knesset elections, when Likud won only 12 seats and Kadima 29.
Victory 2009
In the February 2009 elections, Likud already won 27 seats, losing one to Kadima, led by Tzipi Livni. Because the results were close and uncertain, however, it was not immediately clear who would be asked to form a coalition government. During negotiations in the following days, Netanyahu won the support of the NDI (15 mandates), Shas (11 mandates), as well as a number of smaller parties, and asked the Israeli President to form a government, which was sworn in on March 31, 2009.
Hard line
In June 2009, Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time expressed support for an independent Palestinian state, provided that it was demilitarized and officially recognized Israel as Jewish. These conditions were quickly rejected by Palestinian leaders. A brief round of talks in 2010 collapsed when a 10-month moratorium on settlements in the West Bank expired and Israel refused to extend it. The peace process remained stalled for the remainder of the prime minister's term.
Benjamin Netanyahu has also pursued a hard line on foreign policy, lobbying the international community to take stronger action against Iran's nuclear weapons program, which he called the biggest threat to the security of Israel and the world.
He also expressed pessimism about a series of popular uprisings and revolutions in the Arab world in 2011, called the Arab Spring, predicting that the new leaders would be more hostile to the Jewish state than their predecessors.
Domestic policy
Domestically, Benjamin Netanyahu has faced growing dissatisfaction among the middle class and youth with the state of the economy. In the summer of 2011, street protests spread throughout Israel against social and economic inequality, with calls for increased government support for transport, education, preschools, housing conditions, and others.
Elections in January 2013 returned Netanyahu to the post of prime minister, but at the head of a coalition that was closer to the political center than the previous one. A new center-left party, Yesh Atid, emerged, which advocated solving the socio-economic problems of the middle class. Meanwhile, the combined list of Likud and NDI won the most seats in the Knesset in 2013, but did not live up to expectations. After several weeks of negotiations, Netanyahu managed to reach an agreement with Yesh Atid and some smaller parties.
Decisive confrontation
In July 2014, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the launch of a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket attacks on the country. At the end of the 50-day campaign, Netanyahu said the goal of inflicting significant damage to the militants' ability to fire rockets had been achieved. Internationally, however, the operation was criticized for the high number of Palestinian casualties. By the end of 2014, serious disagreements had emerged within the ruling coalition over the budget and a controversial bill defining Israel as a Jewish state. In December, Netanyahu removed Lapid and Livni from the cabinet, prompting the calling of early elections for March 2015.
New tensions arose in relations between Netanyahu and Barack Obama - this time over negotiations with the Palestinians - in 2014, when Netanyahu began to criticize the US administration's policy towards Iran, aimed at resolving the nuclear issue through international negotiations. Netanyahu argued that any compromise would ultimately lead Iran to nuclear weapons and that sanctions against Iran should be maintained.
Victory 2015
In January 2015, with elections approaching, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to speak to the US Congress on the topic of Iran, which he did on March 3. The invitation became a source of controversy because it was made by the House speaker without prior notice to the White House and because Netanyahu could be critical of the Obama administration. There have been accusations that by openly aligning himself with the camp of opponents of the current president, Netanyahu jeopardized bipartisan US support for Israel.
As March 17 approached, analysts predicted a fight between the Likud and the Zionist Union, a center-left alliance of the Labor and HaTnua parties. When the results were announced, it became clear that Netanyahu and his party had won a decisive victory, taking a majority of 30 seats in the Knesset. The Zionist Union received only 24.
Benjamin Netanyahu(born October 21, 1949, Tel Aviv) - statesman and political figure in Israel. Prime Minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999, current Prime Minister of Israel (since 2009). Leader of the Likud Party (1993-1999 and since 2005). In total, he served 3 times as Israel's Minister of Finance, from which post he resigned on August 9, 2005 in protest against the withdrawal of Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip. In December 2005, he became Leader of the Opposition in the Knesset.
In the elections to the 18th Knesset, the Likud party took 2nd place and received 27 seats in the Knesset. The Kadima Party took first place, but party leader Tzipi Livni failed to form a government. Israeli President Shimon Peres has entrusted the formation of a government to Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu is the first Israeli prime minister born after independence.
Biography
Benjamin Netanyahu was born into the family of a history professor and personal secretary Ze'ev Jabotinsky (Milikovsky), the son of immigrants from Lithuania and Tsilya Netanyahu (Segal). Benjamin is their second son. His older brother, Yonatan (Yoni) Netanyahu, a national hero of Israel, died during the operation to free Israeli hostages in Entebbe. Younger brother Dr. is a radiologist and writer.
In the late 1950s and 1960s. his family lived alternately in Israel and in the United States, where Ben-Zion Netanyahu taught. There, Benjamin graduated from high school, where his name was “Bibi.”
After graduating in 1967, Netanyahu returned to Israel to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. He served in the elite sabotage and reconnaissance unit Sayeret Matkal under the General Staff. He participated in several top-secret military operations on the territory of enemy countries, and was wounded twice, including during the operation to free a Sabena airline plane captured by Palestinian terrorists on May 9, 1972.
After finishing his service in 1972 with the rank of captain, he returned to the United States to pursue higher education. Netanyahu received a bachelor's degree in architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1975, a master's degree in management from MIT in 1977, and then studied political science at Harvard University and MIT. While studying, Netanyahu worked for the Boston Consulting Group.
After the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War (1973), Netanyahu interrupted his studies and took part in hostilities in the Suez Canal area and the Golan Heights.
After finishing his studies in 1977, Netanyahu returned to Israel. Here he works for some time as a top marketing manager in a furniture company. At the same time, he creates the “Institute of Anti-Terrorism named after Y. Netanyahu” and holds international conferences on the fight against terror. At the same time, he met some Israeli politicians, in particular, the then Israeli Ambassador to the United States Moshe Arens, whose deputy Netanyahu became in 1982.
Articles on political topics written by B. Netanyahu were published in such publications as the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Le Monde, Time weekly magazines and many others.
Author of several books on political topics. Founder of the International Institute on Terror (Yonatan Institute). Consul General of Israel to the USA (1982-1984), Ambassador to the UN (1984-1988). Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (1988-90), Deputy Minister in the Ministry of the Prime Minister (1990-1992), leader of the Likud Party and head of the opposition (1993).
Benjamin Netanyahu has been married three times. He met his first wife Miriam Weizman (currently Garen) while working in Boston (USA), and has a daughter (Noah) from his first marriage. In 1982, he married a second time, to Fleur Cates; for the sake of marriage, Fleur had to convert to Judaism, since she was Jewish only on her father’s side. In 1991, Netanyahu married for the third time to Sarah Ben-Artzi, the daughter of the famous Israeli teacher Shmuel Ben-Artzi. From her third marriage, Bibi has two children: sons Yair and Avner
Diplomatic career and early political career
In 1982, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Moshe Arens appointed Netanyahu as his deputy. In addition, Netanyahu was a member of the first Israeli delegation to strategic negotiations with the United States in 1983. In 1984, Benjamin Netanyahu was appointed Israel's ambassador to the UN. Over the next four years, he led the effort to declassify UN archives exposing former Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim's Nazi past. Being a skillful diplomat, talented speaker and polemicist, Netanyahu strengthened Israel's position in the world community.
In 1988, Netanyahu returned to Israel and began his political career, becoming a member of the Knesset on the Likud party ticket. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir appoints him Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel.
In 1992, Likud leader Yitzhak Shamir resigned after the party lost the elections. In the primaries, Netanyahu manages to become the leader of the party, defeating Benny Begin, the son of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and David Levy. Initially, Ariel Sharon also ran for the election of the head of Likud, but he withdrew his candidacy due to unpopularity in the party. In 1993, Netanyahu also became the leader of the opposition in the Knesset. In 1993, he spoke out against it after the signing of the Oslo Accords, accusing the Labor Party government led by Yitzhak Rabin of not taking a tough stance against Arab terrorism. The Likud Party also opposed the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
Prime Minister (1996-1999)
In 1996, for the first time in the history of the state, direct elections of the Prime Minister were held in Israel. Only two candidates were presented in the elections: Netanyahu himself and Shimon Peres; as a result of the elections, Benjamin Netanyahu was elected head of state, despite the fact that pre-election polls predicted Perez's victory. A sharp change in public opinion was caused by terrorist attacks by organized Palestinian Islamist groups on March 3 and 4, 1996, shortly before the elections. The Labor Party had traditionally advocated territorial concessions to the Palestinians, but due to the resumption of terrorist attacks, such a concept was no longer relevant. The attacks killed 32 Israelis. In addition, Netanyahu's election campaign was conducted by Arthur Finkelstein, an American political strategist. Arthur Finkelstein conducted an aggressive political campaign, in the American style; similar methods of conducting an election campaign had not previously been practiced in Israel.
Netanyahu became the youngest prime minister in Israeli history.
Despite winning the elections for Prime Minister, the Likud party did not receive a majority in the Knesset; the Labor Party won the elections to the 14th Knesset. Therefore, Netanyahu had to form a coalition government with the participation of religious parties such as Shas and Yahadut HaTorah. The focus of these parties on social welfare and the security of their electorate ran counter to Netanyahu’s capitalist views. The leaders of religious parties demanded that the new prime minister stop making territorial concessions and exempt religious Jews from military service. However, Netanyahu said that Israel will comply with all previously established agreements, including the Oslo Accords, and in the same statement, the prime minister said that the peace process will be lengthy and that one of the prerequisites for peace negotiations is mutual compliance with obligations.
The coalition created by Netanyahu included the following parties: Likud, Gesher, Mafdal, Yahadut HaTorah, Israel Ba-Alia, Shas and Third Way.
In September 1996, Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Olmert (Mayor of Jerusalem) decided to open the Hasmonean Tunnel to the public. The Hasmonean Tunnel is a section of an ancient conduit and street from the Hasmonean-Herodian period, running from the Western Wall plaza to the Via Dolorosa, 300 m west of the Temple Mount and parallel to its western retaining wall. The head of the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, then said that the Israelis were allegedly planning to undermine the foundation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and thus destroy it, making way for their Third Temple. Serious unrest and armed clashes occurred in Jerusalem and in some areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority, during which Palestinian police used weapons against Israeli security forces for the first time. Arabs repeatedly threw stones at Jews praying at the Western Wall. During the riots, 15 Israelis and 52 Arabs died.
Immediately after the formation of the government, Netanyahu wanted to prove that he would continue the peace process. On November 11, 1997, in Hebron, Netanyahu met with the Chairman of the Palestinian National Authority, Yasser Arafat, the main result of the meeting was the transfer of most of Hebron (80%) to the Palestinians. The remaining 20% of the city was left for local Jewish settlers.
In 1998, through the mediation of US President Bill Clinton, he concluded the Wye Plantation Agreement with Yasser Arafat, according to which the Palestinians received 13% of the territories of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) (Area A), including areas adjacent to Palestinian cities and areas with massive Palestinian populations.
In addition to the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, Netanyahu was faced with the task of strengthening the Israeli economy. The main task in the economic sphere was to stop the growth of inflation and other steps aimed at reducing the state budget deficit. During Netanyahu's premiership, investments in the Israeli hi-tech sector amounted to $1 billion annually. Netanyahu supported a market economy and free enterprise; as part of this policy, he began changing the taxation system and redistributing government benefits. He continued this policy when he was finance minister in the Sharon government. During his tenure, economic and intercommunal contradictions intensified. In particular, many city-forming enterprises in the north and south were closed under the pretext of economic inexpediency.
A major scandal on the Israeli political scene was the appointment of Roni Bar-On to the post of Israeli Attorney General. Roni Bar-On was a friend of the head of the Shas coalition party, Aryeh Deri. Bar-On had to close the case against Deri on charges of corruption. For this, the Shas party had to vote for the withdrawal of troops from Hebron. However, Bar-On remained in his post for less than a day and left, accused of being a low-class lawyer appointed only due to his political connections. A scandal broke out, affecting first Netanyahu's advisers and then his prime minister. Israeli police questioned the prime minister, warning of the possibility of criminal proceedings against him. Netanyahu had to hire one of the best lawyers in the country, Jacob Weinrot. Weinroth, in turn, announced that the true culprit of the scandal was Israeli Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman.
Another scandal was the failure of the Mossad. The Mossad was given the task of eliminating one of the prominent figures of the Hamas terrorist organization, Khaled Mashaal. On September 25, 1997, Mossad agents injected poison into Mashaal's ear on a street in Amman, but were captured by Mashaal's guards. At the request of the Jordanian authorities, Israel provided an antidote and released Hamas spiritual leader Ahmed Yassin from prison. In exchange, the Israeli agents were released from punishment and released. During the investigation, it turned out that mistakes were made in preparing the operation. To prevent a brewing political scandal, a group of major Israeli politicians flew to Amman, including Netanyahu himself, Ariel Sharon and the then Mossad director Efraim Halevi. In addition to deteriorating relations with Jordan, relations with Canada also deteriorated, as Israeli special agents entered Jordan using Canadian passports.
Another highly controversial move by Netanyahu is the construction of a new Jewish neighborhood, Har Homa, in southern Jerusalem. In Har Homa, it was planned to build housing for 30 thousand people, this led to protests not only among Palestinians, but also among Israelis. Yasser Arafat said he will not meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu until construction stops. In fact, this meant the end of peace negotiations.
On March 21, 1997, a terrorist attack occurred at the Apropo cafe in Tel Aviv. The Islamic terrorist organization Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. After this terrorist attack, Palestinian-Israeli relations deteriorated sharply.
Disagreements within the Likud, problems with approving the state budget and lack of confidence in the Netanyahu government in the Knesset led to early elections in 1999. Early elections took place on May 17, 1999. Netanyahu lost the election to Ehud Barak, a candidate from the Labor party. This was the largest defeat of the Likud party in its entire history; the party received only 14% of the votes in the elections. In 1999, he lost early elections and announced his retirement from politics.
After resignation
After leaving the political scene in 1999, he worked as a business consultant to hi-tech companies and gave lectures around the world. At the same time, Netanyahu did not abandon politics, actively speaking out regarding the controversial steps of his heir as prime minister, reacting from the position of a “concerned citizen.” In August 1999, the newspaper Yediot Ahronot published a scandalous article about Netanyahu. In March 2000, police charged Netanyahu with fraud, corruption, embezzlement and breach of trust. However, ultimately, the materials were not transferred to the court.
Political activity after 2000
In 2001, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak resigned. That same year, Netanyahu did not take advantage of the opportunity to become leader of the Likud Party, and refused to participate in the direct election of Prime Minister due to the Knesset's refusal to dissolve itself. Ariel Sharon became the leader of Likud and head of government. In the context of the ongoing Al-Aqsa intifada, Sharon managed to form a government of national unity. The new government was the largest in the country's history, comprising a total of 27 ministers. In October 2002, the Labor party left the coalition due to disagreements related to the Israeli state budget. The coalition found itself in the minority, since it now had only 55 seats in the Knesset. Sharon was forced to announce early elections to the Knesset. Netanyahu participated in the election of the head of Likud but lost. Sharon appointed Netanyahu as foreign minister in 2002 and then as finance minister after elections in 2003.
Minister of Finance
At the end of January 2003, early parliamentary elections took place. The main difference between these elections was that since 2003, direct elections of the prime minister were abolished. The Likud won a landslide victory, while the Labor Party suffered defeat. Sharon formed a right-wing coalition that included the Likud, Shinui, Ihud Leumi and Mafdal parties. One of the ministers of the new government was Benjamin Netanyahu, who took over the post of Finance Minister.
As finance minister, Netanyahu continued to strengthen the private sector at the expense of the public sector. Netanyahu's fiscal policies included cutting government spending, cutting taxes, cutting social benefits and breaking up monopolies. Netanyahu also carried out pension reform. The reforms were of great importance for the country's banking system and led to GDP growth. Netanyahu's economic policies have led to an end to the economic recession, reduced unemployment and increased economic growth.
In August 2005, on the eve of the start of the disengagement plan, Netanyahu resigned from the government in protest and became the head of the internal party opposition. In September 2005, Sharon and a group of supporters left Likud and created a new party, Kadima. In the Likud leadership election in November, Netanyahu easily wins and once again becomes the party's leader and its candidate for prime minister. In March 2006, the Likud party received only 12 seats in the parliamentary elections and refused to join Ehud Olmert's coalition. After the formation of the government, Netanyahu became the leader of the opposition. According to public opinion polls after the second Lebanese war, he enjoyed the highest rating as a candidate for the post of prime minister. As part of his position, Netanyahu spoke on all major issues on the agenda and in major public forums.
Leader of the Likud Party
The withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip led to internal party disagreements not only in Israeli society, but also in the Likud, these disagreements led to the exit of Ariel Sharon and several of his supporters from the party. Sharon, Shimon Peres and deputies of other parties founded a new party - Kadima. In 2005, in the party’s internal elections (primaries), 44.7% of the party members voted for Netanyahu, against 33% of the votes cast for Silvan Shalom, Netanyahu became the party leader. In the early elections to the Knesset in 2006, the Likud party took third place (12 seats), first place went to the Kadima party, and second place to the Labor party. In the 2006 elections, the Likud party showed the worst result in its history.
On August 14, 2007, internal Likud elections were held, Netanyahu won a landslide victory with 73% of the vote. Netanyahu's rivals included Moshe Feiglin, who received 23.4% of the votes, and the chairman of the global Likud, Dani Danon, who received only 3.77% of the votes. From 2006 to 2009, Netanyahu served as leader of the opposition in the Knesset. Since 2009, Prime Minister of Israel.
2009 elections
On September 17, 2008, internal elections were held in the Kadima party, and Tzipi Livni was elected head of the party. In this regard, the current head of the Kadima Party and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert resigned. After Olmert resigned, Israeli President Shimon Peres announced early elections to the Knesset.
In the parliamentary elections on February 10, 2009, the Likud party, led by Netanyahu, took 2nd place after Kadima, receiving 27 seats in parliament. However, given that Kadima received only 1 seat more, and it was not possible to create a viable Kadima coalition, Israeli President Shimon Peres instructed Netanyahu to form a government on February 20. Netanyahu invited Tzipi Livni to join the government of national unity, the main reason for the refusal was Livni’s disagreement with the formula “Two states, for two peoples”. The government that Netanyahu created became one of the largest in the history of Israel and includes 30 ministers and 9 deputy ministers from the parties: Likud, Our Home Israel, Avodah, Shas, Mafdal and Torah Jewry. Soon after taking the oath of office, the new Israeli government was faced with the demand of American President Barack Obama to resolve the conflict within 2 years. On June 21, Netanyahu presented his plan for a Middle East settlement, within the framework of which he agreed to the creation of a Palestinian state with limited rights, if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the national home of the Jewish people and receive security guarantees for Israel, including international ones.
Prime Minister (since 2009)
The Obama administration has repeatedly put pressure on Israel to stop the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
In March 2009, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Israel. During her visit, Clinton condemned the demolition of illegally built houses in East Jerusalem, and she also called such steps “useless.” Hillary Clinton also spoke out in favor of the early creation of a Palestinian state - this decision was not approved by Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom Clinton had previously promised to cooperate. Netanyahu also met several times with the American special envoy for peace in the Middle East, George Mitchell, who called on Israel for new negotiations.
Tel Aviv ,
2) Floor Cates
3) Sarah Ben-Artzi
sons: Yair and Avner (from third marriage)
captain
Prime Minister
In June 1996, Netanyahu formed a government in which he retained the portfolio of Minister of Construction. In the summer of 1996, armed clashes occurred with Palestinians, during which 15 Israelis and 52 Palestinians were killed. After a stern warning from Netanyahu to Ya. Arafat, the Palestinians stopped armed provocations.
Netanyahu has drawn up a new formula for relations with the Palestinians - mutual fulfillment of obligations and termination of cooperation if this principle is violated. He concluded an agreement with the Palestinians on Hebron on November 11, 1997, within the framework of which he transferred to them most (80%) of the city. In 1998, through the mediation of US President Bill Clinton, he concluded the Wye Plantation Agreement with Yasser Arafat, according to which the Palestinians received 13% of the territories of Judea and Samaria (Area A), including areas adjacent to Palestinian cities and areas with massive Palestinian population. The Hasmonean tunnel opened in 1996, which led to a series of clashes with Palestinians. He supported a market economy and free enterprise; as part of this policy, he began changing the taxation system and redistributing state benefits. He continued this policy when he was finance minister in the Sharon government. During his tenure, economic and intercommunal contradictions intensified. In particular, many city-forming enterprises in the north and south were closed under the pretext of economic inexpediency.
Netanyahu's tenure as prime minister was plagued by numerous scandals, fueled by the media. Several members of the government, including Finance Minister D. Meridor, Defense Minister I. Mordechai (born 1944), left Likkud. In the context of a severe internal political crisis, Netanyahu was forced to hold early elections of the head of government and the Knesset. In 1999 he lost early elections to Ehud Barak. In the summer of 1999, Netanyahu resigned as chairman of the Likkud movement and resigned as a member of the Knesset.
After resignation
At first, he actively lectured at American universities, but did not leave politics, actively speaking out on the controversial steps of his heir as prime minister, reacting from the position of a “concerned citizen.” In 2001, he refused to participate in the direct elections of the Prime Minister due to the Knesset’s refusal to dissolve itself. He announced his return to politics on the eve of the 2003 elections, but lost to Ariel Sharon in the election for the head of Likud. Sharon appointed Netanyahu as foreign minister in 2002 and then as finance minister after the 2003 elections. In this position, Netanyahu continued his economic reforms, which caused rejection among many segments of the population who did not realize that economic reforms could not have an immediate effect and feared the “capitalization” of Israel’s largely socialist economy. At the same time, these reforms were of great importance for the country's banking system and led to GDP growth. In August 2005, on the eve of the start of the disengagement plan, Netanyahu resigned from the government in protest and became the head of the internal party opposition. In September 2005, Sharon and a group of supporters left Likud and created a new party, Kadima. In the Likud leadership election in November, Netanyahu easily wins and re-emerges as the party's leader and its candidate for prime minister. In March 2006, the Likud party received only 12 seats in the parliamentary elections and refused to join Ehud Olmert's coalition. After the formation of the government, Netanyahu became the leader of the opposition. According to public opinion polls after the second Lebanese war, he enjoyed the highest rating as a candidate for the post of prime minister. As part of his position, Netanyahu spoke on all major issues on the agenda and in major public forums.
2009 elections and Netanyahu's second term
Family status
Married for the third time. Daughter Noah from his first marriage to Michal Geren, sons Yair and Avner from his third marriage to Sarah Ben-Artzi.
Books
- Benjamin Netanyahu International Terrorism: Challenge and Response. - Transaction Publishers, 1981. - 383 p. - ISBN 0878558942, 9780878558940(English)
- Benjamin Netanyahu Terrorism: how the West can win (How democracies can overcome terrorism). - Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986. - 254 p. - ISBN 0374273421, 9780374273422(English)
- Benjamin Netanyahu A place among the nations: Israel and the world. - Bantam Books, 1993. - 467 p. - ISBN 0553089749, 9780553089745(English)
- A place under the sun . - 1996. - 663 p.(Russian)
- Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorism(Diane Pub Co, 1995) (ISBN 0-374-52497-1)
- Benjamin Netanyahu Fighting terrorism: how democracies can defeat domestic and international terrorists. - Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1995. - 151 p. - ISBN 0374154929, 9780374154929(English)
- The War on Terror: How Democracies Can Defeat the Network of International Terrorism. - Alpina Publisher, 2002. - P. 208. - ISBN 5-94599-051-5
- A Durable Peace: Israel and Its Place Among the Nations(Warner Books, 2000) (ISBN 0-446-52306-2)
see also
- Ido Netanyahu
Footnotes
Sources and links
- Article " Netanyahu Benjamin» in the Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia
- 5 Surprising Facts About Netanyahu That Prove He’s Twice the Man Obama Is (PHOTOS) . conservativetribune.com (March 7th, 2015). Retrieved March 24, 2015.
| Predecessor: Shimon Shitrit |
8th Minister of Religious Affairs of Israel June 18, 1996 - August 7, 1996 |
Successor: Eli Suisa |
| Predecessor: Yaakov Naaman |
18th Minister of Justice of Israel June 18, 1996 - September 4, 1996 |
Successor: Tzachi Hanegbi |
| Predecessor: Benny Begin |
2nd Minister of Science June 18, 1996 - July 9, 1997 |
Successor: Michael Eitan (Minister of Science and Technology of Israel) |
| Predecessor: Benjamin Ben-Eliezer |
13th Minister of Construction of Israel June 18, 1996 - July 6, 1999 |
Successor: Itzhak Levi |
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