But Netanyahu isn’t the family’s original name. Bibi’s grandfather, Natan, immigrated to Israel from Soviet Russia in 1920. The family name at the time was Mileikowski, which isn’t as easy to Hebraize as names such as Löwenherz, Schneider or Goldberg—names that become Lev Ari, Chayat, Har Sahav when translated into Hebrew. Natan Mileikowski also wanted to bear a name with a biblical Hebrew sound in the Land. He initially used “Netanyahu” as a pseudonym under which he published columns.
Natan Netanyahu brought nine children with him to the Land of Israel. Bibi’s father, Benzion Netanyahu, was born in Warsaw and was ten years old when the family immigrated to Israel. He became a historian and was active as a Zionist advocate. In 1940, he went to New York and became the secretary of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, the “father of Revisionist Zionism.” Professor Benzion Netanyahu was a supporter of the idea of Greater Israel and occasionally appeared as a sharp critic of his son Benjamin when he was Prime Minister.
The name in...
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