Prime Minister of Israel (1996–1999; 2009–2021; since 2022)

Portrait of Benjamin Netanyahu, a middle-aged man, wearing a suit with a blue tie, sitting in front of an Israeli flag.
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu
benjamin netanyahu addresses the 118th united states congress cropped
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician and diplomat who has served as Prime Minister of Israel since 2022. Having previously held office from 1996 to 1999 and … Wikipedia
Factsheet
Benjamin Netanyahu בִּנְיָמִין נְתַנְיָהוּ
Prime Minister of Israel Incumbent
Assumed office
29 December 2022
President Isaac Herzog
Factsheet
Benjamin Netanyahu בִּנְיָמִין נְתַנְיָהוּ
Prime Minister of Israel Incumbent
Assumed office
29 December 2022
President Isaac Herzog
🌐
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Benjamin_Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu - Wikipedia
1 week ago - At MIT, Netanyahu studied a double-load while taking courses at Harvard University, completing his bachelor's degree in architecture in two and a half years, despite taking a break to fight in the Yom Kippur War. Professor Leon B. Groisser at MIT recalled: "He did superbly. He was very bright. Organized. Strong. Powerful. He knew what he wanted to do and how to get it done." At that time he changed his name to Benjamin "Ben" Nitai (Nitai, a reference to both Mount Nitai and to the eponymous Jewish sage Nittai of Arbela, was a pen name often used by his father for articles).
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/israel › what is benjamin netannyahu's true ideology?
What is Benjamin Netannyahu's true ideology? : r/Israel
October 30, 2024 - I believe he is secular, but has aligned himself with anti-LGBT forces, especially now since at least before October 7th nobody really wanted to work with him anymore, except for the far right and Haredi parties, so that's who he worked with to build the 37th government. I think Benjamin Netanyahu's ideology is to do whatever's best for Benjamin Netanyahu.
People also ask

When was Benjamin Netanyahu first elected prime minister of Israel?
Benjamin Netanyahu was first elected prime minister of Israel on May 29, 1996, by a margin of about 1 percent over Shimon Peres. Netanyahu became the youngest person ever to serve as Israel’s prime minister when he formed a government on June 18, 1996. His first term as prime minister ended in 1999, when he was succeeded by Ehud Barak, leader of the Labour Party.

Netanyahu was again prime minister from 2009 to 2021. His third term began in 2022.

🌐
britannica.com
britannica.com › politics, law & government › world leaders › prime ministers
Benjamin Netanyahu | Biography, Education, Party, Nickname, & Facts ...
What political party is Benjamin Netanyahu a member of?
Benjamin Netanyahu is a member of Likud, an ideologically conservative and nationalist party. He first became Likud’s leader in 1993, succeeding Yitzḥak Shamir, but he lost that role to Ariel Sharon in 1999. Netanyahu resumed leading Likud in 2005.
🌐
britannica.com
britannica.com › politics, law & government › world leaders › prime ministers
Benjamin Netanyahu | Biography, Education, Party, Nickname, & Facts ...
🌐
Quora
quora.com › What-religion-is-Benjamin-Netanyahu
What religion is Benjamin Netanyahu? - Quora
Answer (1 of 9): Mr Netanyahu, aka Bibi, is a Jew. He is Ashkenazi. His brother, Yannni led the raid on Entebbe, Uganda, which freed the skyjacked passengers from Idi Amin who colluded with the kidnappers of these innocents. He was the only casualty in the raid. He had a premonition he would die...
🌐
The Jerusalem Post
jpost.com › israel-news › article-858734
Benjamin Netanyahu uses Iran war to reveal insight into spiritual side | The Jerusalem Post
Benjamin Netanyahu| Judaism| Politics| religion| Israel Iran War| God| Operation Rising Lion · Related Articles · Gaza hostage Ran Gvili asks Trump to free him in Ai video · Smotrich calls on Netanyahu to secure West Bank sovereignty · Small-business owners protest new import reform ·
🌐
Medium
drstroman.medium.com › netanyahu-faith-and-forgiveness-b34618d96415
Netanyahu, Faith, and Forgiveness | by Deborah Stroman | Medium
October 15, 2023 - The Middle East, albeit a political and social construct by name, is the birthplace of the world’s three largest Abrahamic religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Netanyahu’s stern proclamation makes me examine my own internal battles with forgiveness.
🌐
Quora
quora.com › Is-Benjamin-Netanyahu-an-atheist
Is Benjamin Netanyahu an atheist? - Quora
Answer (1 of 15): In June, 2025, his behavior has not been the behavior of an atheist. * He prayed at the Western Wall just before the June attacks on Iran. * At a parliament session, he recited the full text of the blessing thanking God for the keeping us alive, functioning and surviving at t...
🌐
Encyclopedia Britannica
britannica.com › politics, law & government › world leaders › prime ministers
Benjamin Netanyahu | Biography, Education, Party, Nickname, & Facts | Britannica
July 20, 1998 - Ex-aide says Netanyahu tasked him with making a plan to evade responsibility for Oct. 7 attack • Dec. 23, 2025, 11:18 AM ET (AP) Thousands gather at Bondi Beach to mourn victims of antisemitic attack • Dec. 21, 2025, 6:00 AM ET (AP) Australia's leaders promise to tighten gun laws after Bondi Beach massacre on Hanukkah • Dec. 15, 2025, 9:49 PM ET (AP) Show less · Benjamin Netanyahu (born October 21, 1949, Tel Aviv [now Tel Aviv–Yafo], Israel) is an Israeli politician and diplomat who served as his country’s prime minister three times (1996–99, 2009–21, and 2022– ) and is the longest-serving prime minister since Israel’s independence.
Find elsewhere
🌐
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Benzion_Netanyahu
Benzion Netanyahu - Wikipedia
November 4, 2025 - Nathan Mileikowsky had also used the pen name "Nitay". Benzion Netanyahu studied at the teachers' seminary and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Although his father was a rabbi, Benzion was secular.
🌐
Anadolu Ajansı
aa.com.tr › en › middle-east › netanyahu-seeks-evangelical-support-with-religious-allusions-says-expert › 3042429
Netanyahu seeks evangelical support with religious allusions, says expert
Asli Nur Duzgun, who studies US evangelicals at Istanbul Medeniyet University, took a close look at Netanyahu's speeches, and Netanyahu’s reference to an ancient tribe, saying: "The Book of Isaiah is the first book in the Tanak (Hebrew Bible) that talks about prophets.
🌐
Barre-Montpelier Times Argus
timesargus.com › opinion › perspective › on-faith-netanyahu-s-unholy-war › article_7d4b77b4-1193-55b2-9327-6391f631fd24.html
On Faith: Netanyahu’s unholy war | Perspective | timesargus.com
January 27, 2024 - Netanyahu’s war in Gaza, despite his citation of the Holy Bible and claim he is fighting a holy war, is far from holy. It is unholy and tribal. He is certainly not a holy man; on the contrary, his only use for the Torah is for cynical political capital to support his extreme right, racist policies.
🌐
Hoover Institution
hoover.org › research › bibi-my-story-benjamin-netanyahu-his-life-and-times
“Bibi: My Story,” Benjamin Netanyahu On His Life And Times
And that, obviously you have flare-ups here and there, but it's that policy that I will continue of ensuring a status quo which allows the freedom of religion, freedom of worship for all three religions, that it can be secured. And most people, when they eye it, objectively understand that. Peter Robinson: Last question about how Israel works. Here's the, this is- Bibi Netanyahu: How Israel works.
🌐
ECPS
populismstudies.org › nationalism-religion-and-archaeology-the-civilizational-populism-of-benjamin-netanyahu-and-likud
Nationalism, Religion, and Archaeology: The Civilizational Populism of Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud - ECPS
March 17, 2025 - Netanyahu, Benjamin. (2022). “Secrets Of Statecraft: The Historical Heritage of Bibi Netanyahu.” Hoover Institution. https://www.hoover.org/research/secrets-statecraft-historical-heritage-bibi-netanyahu (accessed on September 30, 2022). Nevo, N. & Verbov, D. (2011). “Hebrew Language in Israel and the Diaspora.” In: Miller, H., Grant, L., Pomson, A. (eds) International Handbook of Jewish Education. International Handbooks of Religion and Education.
🌐
Quora
quora.com › Is-Benjamin-Netanyahu-religious-or-an-atheist
Is Benjamin Netanyahu religious or an atheist? - Quora
Answer (1 of 17): This question is very “Western”. In Israel - there are many gradations between “atheist” and “religious”- Most Israelis are secular or traditional - but this by no means implies atheism. In fact, 80% of Israeli Jews believe in God, but only about 25% of Israeli ...
🌐
Al Jazeera
aljazeera.com › news › benjamin netanyahu
Who is Israel’s new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? | Benjamin Netanyahu News | Al Jazeera
Netanyahu’s mother, Tzila Segal, was an Israeli-born Jew and his father Benzion Netanyahu was a secular Jew from Poland. His father, born Benzion Mileikowsky, changed his name to Benzion Netanyahu after he settled in Palestine.
Published   December 29, 2022
🌐
PBS
pbs.org › wnet › religionandethics › tag › benjamin-netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu Archives - Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly
Pope Francis visited sacred sites recognized by Muslims, Christians, and Jews, including the Western Wall. He met with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and a range of other religious leaders, made unexpected stops at a terror memorial and at the separation wall that surrounds the West Bank ...
🌐
Quora
quora.com › How-strictly-observant-of-a-Jew-is-Benjamin-Netanyahu
How strictly observant of a Jew is Benjamin Netanyahu? - Quora
Answer (1 of 9): Not at all, from what I know. He doesn’t keep the Sabbath, he doesn’t observe Jewish dietary laws, and he violates all this on public and even on TV (violation in public is doubly problematic because you are leading other people to violate it as well).
🌐
Christians United for Israel
cufi.org › home
Netanyahu: Evangelical Christians are Israel’s best friends | Christians United for Israel
July 28, 2020 - WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a Christian evangelical audience in Washington on Monday that they were Israel’s best friends in the world, in an address notable for the pointed absence of any reference to US President ...
🌐
NPR
npr.org › 2023 › 11 › 07 › 1211133201 › netanyahus-references-to-violent-biblical-passages-raise-alarm-among-critics
Netanyahu's references to violent biblical passages raise alarm among critics : NPR
November 7, 2023 - Netanyahu's references to violent biblical passages raise alarm among critics How should the world interpret Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent allusions to the Hebrew Bible, when discussing his country's war on Hamas?
🌐
Britannica Kids
kids.britannica.com › students › article › Benjamin-Netanyahu › 312680
Benjamin Netanyahu - Students | Britannica Kids | Homework Help
Animals Arts and Literature Earth and Geography History Life Processes Living Things (Other) Philosophy and Religion Plants Science and Mathematics Society Sports and Recreation Technology Biographies Dictionary Compare Countries World Atlas Podcast ... (born 1949). Israeli politician Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel’s conservative Likud party served as his country’s prime minister three times (1996–99, 2009–21, and 2022– ).
🌐
EBSCO
ebsco.com › research-starters › biography › benjamin-netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu | Research Starters | EBSCO Research
Benjamin Netanyahu, often referred ... on October 21, 1949, in Tel Aviv, he was raised in a Zionist family that deeply valued Jewish statehood....