Benzion Netanyahu Israeli historian and Revisionist activist Date of Birth: 25.03.1910 Country: Israel

1. Benzion Netanyahu
2. Education and Career
3. Personal Life
4. Revisionist Zionism
5. Academics and Later Years
6. Family

Benzion Netanyahu

Born March 25, 1910, in Warsaw as Benzion Mileikovsky, Netanyahu immigrated to British-occupied Palestine with his family in 1920.

Education and Career

Netanyahu studied at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, focusing on the history of Marranos (Spanish and Portuguese Jews who converted to Christianity). He developed a theory that Marranos converted not under duress but for integration, and that their persecution resulted from racism rather than religious intolerance.

Personal Life

In 1944, Netanyahu married Tzila Segal (d. 2000). They had three sons: Yonatan (b. 1946), Benjamin (b. 1949), and Iddo (b. 1952).

Revisionist Zionism

Netanyahu served as personal secretary to Vladimir Jabotinsky, founder of the Revisionist Zionist movement, which advocated for a Jewish state on both banks of the Jordan River in the 1920s. Despite his involvement, Netanyahu did not pursue a political career.

Academics and Later Years

Netanyahu held a professorship at Cornell University in the United States before returning to Israel. He remained an active historian, publishing numerous works on Jewish history. He also publicly criticized his son Benjamin's political views.

Family

Netanyahu's brother was the Israeli mathematician Elisha Netanyahu (1912-1986). His sister-in-law was Supreme Court Justice Shoshana Netanyahu (née Shenburg). His nephew is computer science professor Nathan Netanyahu (b. 1951).