Benzion Netanyahu

Benzion Netanyahu (2007)

Benzion Netanyahu (born March 25, 1910 in Warsaw , Russian Empire, as Benzion Mileikowski ; † April 30, 2012 in Jerusalem , Israel ) was an Israeli historian and Zionist activist . He also worked as the secretary of Zeev Jabotinskys , the "father of revisionist Zionism ", and as a revisionist leader of the Zionist movement in America.

He is the father of Jonathan Netanyahu (1946–1976), who was killed by Sajeret Matkal as head of the unit used to liberate the hostages of Entebbe , Benjamin Netanyahu (* 1949), the incumbent Israeli Prime Minister, and Iddo Netanyahu ( * 1952), a radiologist and writer.

Life

Benzion Netanyahu's parents were the rabbi and Zionist activist Nathan Mileikowski and his wife Sarah. In 1920 the family emigrated to Palestine and, after stays in Jaffa , Tel Aviv and Safed, finally lived in Jerusalem. Benzion Netanyahu studied a. a. at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem , specialized in history and was particularly influenced by Joseph Klausner , who promoted Netanyahu. Benzion's younger brother, the mathematician Elisha Netanyahu, also studied at the Hebrew University and became dean of the Technion .

Benzion Netanyahu became active in revisionist circles during his studies and was a close friend of Abba Ahimeir . Benzion Netanyahu was also co-editor of the monthly Betar at that time and in 1934 he became editor of the revisionist daily Ha-Yarden in Jerusalem. In 1940 he went to New York and became Jabotinsky's secretary. During World War II , Netanyahu was one of the major leaders of Zionist revisionism in the United States. At the same time he was doing his PhD from Dropsie College in Philadelphia .

In 1949 he returned to Israel and became editor of the Encyclopaedia Hebraica in Jerusalem. He went back to Dropsie College in 1957 as Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature (1957–1966), then as Professor of Medieval Jewish History and Literature (1966–1968). In the following years he held professorships in Denver and at Cornell University (until 1975).

A political career in Israel was not granted to him, who all his life represented ultra-right positions - even from the point of view of Menachem Begins . Benzion Netanyahu was a supporter of the idea of ​​a Greater Israel and has occasionally emerged as a sharp critic of his son.

In 2009 he said in an interview:

“The tendency to conflict is in the essence of the Arab. He is an enemy by essence. His personality won't allow him any compromise. It doesn't matter what kind of resistance he will meet, what price he will pay. His existence is one of perpetual war "

“The tendency to quarrel is in the nature of the Arab. He is the born enemy. His personality does not allow him to compromise. It doesn't matter what resistance he meets, what price he has to pay. He is in a state of perpetual war "

- Benzion Netanyahu

After the killing of his eldest son Jonathan, the family, who had lived alternately in Israel and the USA for decades, returned to Israel for good. Netanyahu's second son, Benjamin, became a politician and became Israel's Prime Minister (1996 and 2009). In 2000, Benzion's wife Tzila died. In March 2010 Benzion Netanyahu celebrated his 100th birthday in good health. He died at his home in Jerusalem at the age of 102.

Fonts

• Don Isaac Abravanel. Statesman and philosopher . (1953) Ithaca 1998, ISBN 978-0-8014-3487-7 .
• The Marranos of Spain. From the late XIVth to the early XVIth century . (1966) Ithaca 1999, ISBN 978-0-8014-8568-8
• The origins of the Inquisition. In fifteenth century Spain . (1995) New York 2001, ISBN 978-0-679-41065-2
• Toward the inquisition. Essays on Jewish and converso history in late medieval Spain . Ithaca 1997, ISBN 978-0-8014-3410-5 .

literature

• Martin A. Cohen:  Netanyahu, Benzion. In: Encyclopaedia Judaica . 2nd Edition. Volume 15, Detroit / New York a. a. 2007, ISBN 978-0-02-865943-5 , p. 91 (English).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/obituaries/benzion-netanyahu.17457618