Editing Benjamin Netanyahu (section)

== Personal life ==

=== Family tree ===
{{tree chart/start|align=center}}
{{tree chart | | | | | | | NM |y| SL |NM=[[Nathan Mileikowsky]]<br />(1879–1935)<br />''Writer, [[Zionist]] activist'' |SL=Sarah Lurie}}
{{tree chart | | | | | | | |,|-|^|-|.}}
{{tree chart | | | TS |y| BN | | EN |y| SS |TS=Tzila Segal<br />(1912–2000) |BN=[[Benzion Netanyahu]]<br />(1910–2012)<br />''Historian'' |EN=[[Elisha Netanyahu]]<br />(1912–1986)<br />''Mathematician'' |SS=[[Shoshana Netanyahu|Shoshana Shenburg]]<br />(1923–2022)<br />''[[Supreme Court of Israel|Supreme Court]] justice''}}
{{tree chart | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | |!}}
{{tree chart | YN | | BN | | IN | | NN |YN=[[Yonatan Netanyahu]]<br />(1946–1976)<br />''Military Commander'' |BN='''Benjamin Netanyahu'''<br />(1949–) |IN=[[Iddo Netanyahu]]<br />(1952–)<br />''Physician, playwright'' |NN=[[Nathan Netanyahu]]<br />(1951–)<br />''Computer scientist''}}
{{tree chart/end}}

[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - P.M. Netanyahu at Memorial Service for Yoni.jpg|thumb|upright|Benjamin Netanyahu at the grave of his brother [[Yoni Netanyahu]], who was killed leading a counter-terrorist operation in 1976]]

=== Family and background ===
Netanyahu was born in [[Tel Aviv]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netanyahu.org/biography.html |title=Biography: Benjamin Netanyahu |publisher=Likud |access-date=15 September 2009 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422082705/http://www.netanyahu.org/biography.html |archive-date=22 April 2009}}</ref> to [[Benzion Netanyahu]] (original name Mileikowsky) and Tzila (Cela; née Segal). His mother was born in 1912 in [[Petah Tikva]], then in [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Palestine, now [[Israel]]. Though all his grandparents were born in the [[Russian Empire]] (now [[Belarus]], Lithuania and Poland), his mother's parents emigrated to [[Minneapolis]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ronn |first=J. Michoel |title=The Dworskys of Lazdei: The History of a Lithuanian Jewish family from the mid-1700s until the Present |location=Brooklyn, NY|year=1990 |url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009184440 |access-date=31 January 2014|publisher=J.M. Ronn }}</ref> He is related to Rabbi [[Vilna Gaon|Eliyahu of Vilna]] (the Vilna Gaon) on his paternal side.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tidhar|first=David|title=Entsiklopediyah le-halutse ha-yishuv u-vonav|location=Tel-Aviv|year=1947|page=v.1, pp.186–187}}</ref>

Netanyahu's father, [[Benzion Netanyahu|Benzion]], was a professor of [[Jewish history]] at [[Cornell University]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Brand |first=David |title=Lehman leads CU group into the desert to promote education – and peace |url=http://www.news.cornell.edu/features/BTR/BTR_cover.html |publisher=[[Cornell University]] |date=9 March 2004 |access-date=5 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080718210043/http://www.news.cornell.edu/features/BTR/BTR_cover.html |archive-date=18 July 2008 }}</ref> editor of the [[Encyclopaedia Hebraica]], and a senior aide to [[Ze'ev Jabotinsky]], who remained active in research and writing into his nineties.

Netanyahu's paternal grandfather was [[Nathan Mileikowsky]], a leading Zionist rabbi and [[Jewish National Fund|JNF]] fundraiser.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zoa.makeitallwork.com/2009/04/102450-the-maggid-of-netanyahu/ |title=The Maggid of Netanyahu |last=Alpert |first=Zalman |date=29 April 2009 |publisher=Zionist Organization of America |access-date=6 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004221140/http://zoa.makeitallwork.com/2009/04/102450-the-maggid-of-netanyahu/ |archive-date= 4 October 2013 }}</ref> Netanyahu's older brother, [[Yonatan Netanyahu|Yonatan]], was killed in [[Uganda]] during [[Operation Entebbe]] in 1976. His younger brother, [[Iddo Netanyahu|Iddo]], is a radiologist and writer. All three brothers served in the [[Sayeret Matkal]] reconnaissance unit of the [[Israel Defense Forces]].{{cn|date=January 2025}}

=== Marriages and relationships ===
[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - P.M. BENJAMIN NETANYAHU LIGHTING HANUKA CANDLES WITH HIS WIFE AND SONS.jpg|thumb|Netanyahu lighting [[Hanukkah]] [[Menorah (Hanukkah)|candles]] on the first night in the [[Beit Aghion|prime minister's office]] in [[Jerusalem]] with his wife, [[Sara Netanyahu|Sara]] and their sons, [[Yair Netanyahu|Yair]] and [[Avner Netanyahu|Avner]], 1996]]
Netanyahu has been married three times and has been involved in multiple [[Affair|extramarital affairs]]. Netanyahu's first marriage was to Miriam Weizmann, whom he met in Israel. Weizmann lived near Yonatan Netanyahu's apartment in Jerusalem, where Netanyahu was based during his military service. By the time Netanyahu's service was finished, Weizmann had completed her own military service as well as a degree in chemistry from the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]]. In 1972, they both left to study in the United States, where she enrolled in [[Brandeis University]], while Netanyahu studied at MIT. They married soon afterward. The couple had one daughter, Noa (born 29 April 1978).<ref name="Haaretz-2009">{{cite news |date=1 October 2009 |title=Mazel Tov Mr. Prime Minister! Netanyahu's first grandson born |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/mazel-tov-mr-prime-minister-netanyahu-s-first-grandson-born-1.6885 |access-date=16 March 2013 |newspaper=Haaretz}}</ref><ref name="Miskin-2009">{{cite news |last=Miskin |first=Maayana |date=8 October 2009 |title=Photo Essay: Netanyahu's Grandson Named |url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/133763 |access-date=16 March 2013 |publisher=Arutz Sheva}}</ref>

In 1978, while Weizmann was pregnant, Netanyahu met a non-Jewish British student named Fleur Cates at the university library, and began an affair. His marriage ended in divorce soon after Miriam discovered the affair. In 1981, Netanyahu married Cates, and she [[conversion to Judaism|converted]] to [[Judaism]].<ref name=star>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/news/1996/06/benjamin-netanyahu|title=Star of Zion|first=David|last=Margolick|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=5 June 1996}}</ref> After moving with Netanyahu to Israel, Cates sued for divorce in 1988.<ref name="star" />

His third wife, [[Sara Netanyahu|Sara Ben-Artzi]], was working as a [[flight attendant]] on an [[El Al]] flight from New York to Israel when they met.<ref name=bio/> She was in the process of completing a master's degree in psychology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pmo.gov.il/English/PrimeMinister/Pages/PrimeMinistersWife.aspx|title=Mrs. Sara Netanyahu|publisher=Office of the Prime Minister}}</ref> The couple married in 1991. They have two sons: [[Yair Netanyahu|Yair]] (born 26 July 1991), a former soldier in the [[IDF Spokesperson's Unit]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Benjamin Netanyahu's son gets new IDF PR job |first=Li-or |last=Averbach |url=http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000637256&fid=1725 |newspaper=Globes |date=10 April 2011 |access-date=17 March 2013}}</ref> and [[Avner Netanyahu|Avner]] (born 10 October 1994), a national Bible champion, winner of the National Bible Quiz for Youth in [[Kiryat Shmona]], and former soldier in the IDF [[Combat Intelligence Collection Corps]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Gordon |first=Evelyn |url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=171175 |title=Netanyahu Jr. wins National Bible Quiz |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=17 March 2010 |access-date=27 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.jpost.com/not-just-news/shine-your-shoes-netanyahus-youngest-son-begins-army-service-383308|title=Shine your shoes! Netanyahu's youngest son begins army service|work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref>

In 1993, Netanyahu confessed on live television to having an affair with Ruth Bar, his public relations adviser. He said that a political rival had planted a secret video camera that had recorded him in a sexually compromising position with Bar, and that he had been threatened with the release of the tape to the press unless he quit the Likud leadership race. Netanyahu and Sara repaired their marriage, and he was elected to the leadership of Likud.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Netanyahus: A colourful partnership |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/693517.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=28 March 2000}}</ref> In 1996, the media reported that he had a 20-year friendship with Katherine Price-Mondadori, an Italian-American woman.<ref>[https://apnews.com/0514d58c98e38d8d7da3baa5bb00ca91 "Who Fired the Prime Minister's Nanny? The Soup Thickens"], by Jack Katzenell, Associated Press, 7 July 1996</ref>

=== Health ===
Netanyahu has been suffering from [[right bundle branch block]] (RBBB) since around 2003.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.israelhayom.co.il/health/article/14422465|title=15 שניות של חסימה בלב: היממה הדרמטית של נתניהו &#124; ישראל היום|date=23 July 2023|website=www.israelhayom.co.il}}</ref> On 22 July 2023, a pacemaker was implanted in his body.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/bjmjnatq3 | title=רגע לפני ההצבעה: קוצב לב הושתל הלילה לנתניהו, לוין מילא את מקומו | newspaper=Ynet | date=22 July 2023 | last1=אייכנר | first1=איתמר | last2=אזולאי | first2=מורן | last3=ינקו | first3=אדיר }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.israelhayom.co.il/health/article/14419313|title=קוצב הלב שהושתל לנתניהו מיועד ל"מדוכאי חיסון" – והוא איננו בסל הבריאות &#124; ישראל היום|date=14 September 2023|website=Israel Hayom}}</ref> A hernia was discovered on him in March 2024.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://apnews.com/article/israel-netanyahu-hamas-war-health-heart-hernia-surgery-8e6f968bb0a0b5947e82c3b2e25ccf50 | title=Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is to undergo hernia surgery |work=Associated Press | date=1 April 2024}}</ref> In December 2024, his prostate was removed following a urinary tract infection caused by an enlargement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goldenberg |first=Tia |date=29 December 2024 |title=Israeli hospital says Netanyahu has undergone successful prostate surgery |url=https://apnews.com/article/netanyahu-israel-health-prostate-war-ffa0430d621307d34a673a0428ece945 |access-date=2025-04-28 |website=Associated Press}}</ref>

His personal physician and close friend is the Romanian-born pediatrist [[Herman Berkovits]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://m.digi24.ro/stiri/externe/mapamond/sanatatea-premierului-israelian-sta-in-mainile-unui-medic-roman-325112 | title=Sănătatea premierului israelian stă în mâinile unui medic român | date=23 November 2014 }}</ref>