By Hammad Kahlun
Scandinavian news Finland
Tax Authority records reveal the Israeli prime minister’s eldest son adopted a new identity, continuing a pattern seen elsewhere in the Yair Netanyahu family.
Name Change Confirmed Through Tax Records
Yair Netanyahu, the eldest son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has legally changed his name to Yonatan Hun, according to a report published by Haaretz and cited by multiple Israeli outlets, including The Times of Israel.
The change was uncovered through Israel Tax Authority documents. Withholding certificates issued in December 2024 still listed him as Yair Netanyahu.
This year, records tied to the same identification number appeared under the new name, along with a placeholder address, “Balfour 0.”
Under Israeli law, an official name change is irreversible for seven years. It remains unclear whether Yair Netanyahu intends to use the new identity publicly; his social media accounts still carry his birth name.
The Names Behind the Change
The new name draws on two branches of family history.
Yonatan honors Yair’s late uncleYair Netanyahu the prime minister’s brother, who commanded and was killed during Operation Entebbe, the 1976 Israeli raid to rescue hostages held in Uganda.
In a podcast interview published a day before the report emerged, Benjamin Netanyahu said that he and his wife, Sara, chose not to name any of their sons after Yoni because they believed it would place an overwhelming sense of responsibility on the child.
Hun is the original surname of Yair’s maternal grandfather, Shmuel Ben-Artzi, Sara Netanyahu’s father, before it was Hebraized.
A Recurring Family Pattern
This is not the first documented name change within the Netanyahu family.
Yair’s brother, Avner Netanyahu, adopted the name “Avi Segal” around 2022 while studying at Regent’s Park College, Oxford, and used it to purchase a London-area apartment for roughly £502,000, according to Britain’s Land Registry.
“Segal” was the maiden name of Tzila, the prime minister’s mother.
Benjamin Netanyahu himself used the name “Ben Nitai” while living in the United States in the 1970s, saying later it made his name easier for Americans to pronounce.
The practice extends further back. Yair’s grandfather, Benzion Netanyahu, was born Benzion Mileikowsky in Poland.
After immigrating to Mandatory Palestine in the 1920s, he Hebraized the family surname to Netanyahu (“God has given”), a common step among early Zionist settlers.
Context
The report surfaces amid heightened scrutiny of the Netanyahu name internationally, including an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against Benjamin Yair Netanyahu in 2024 over the Gaza war, and three separate corruption cases the prime minister faces in Israel.
Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor Yair Netanyahu has issued an official statement confirming the reason for the change.
For more on the Netanyahu family’s political and legal controversies, see our related coverage of the ICC arrest warrant and corruption cases against the prime minister.
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