Israeli PM Netanyahu’s son legally changes his name, reports say

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's eldest son, Yair Netanyahu, legally changed his name to Yonatan Han, according to a report published by Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The report states that the name change was officially registered approximately two and a half years ago but only came to light after documents from Israel's Tax Authority became public.

According to the documents, the identification number previously associated with the name Yair Netanyahu now appears under the name Yonatan Han.

The report suggests that the legal change appears to have been completed after the outbreak of the Gaza war, although no official timeline or explanation has been confirmed.

Neither Yair Netanyahu nor the Israeli government has publicly explained the reason behind the change. However, Israeli media have highlighted two possible personal factors.

The surname "Han" reportedly traces back to the original family name of his mother, Sara Netanyahu, whose family later adopted the surname Ben-Artzi. By choosing "Han," Yair is believed to have revived his maternal family's historical surname.

His new first name, Yonatan, is also believed to be a tribute to his late uncle, Yonatan Netanyahu, the elder brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was killed while leading the 1976 Entebbe raid and is widely regarded as a national hero in Israel.

Israeli media have also noted that Netanyahu's younger son, Avner Netanyahu, had previously used the name Avi Segal in certain official documents abroad.

Social media users have speculated that Yair Netanyahu changed his name to distance himself from his father's growing international legal and political scrutiny over the Gaza war.

However, there is no official evidence supporting this claim, and neither the Netanyahu family nor Israeli authorities have issued any statement linking the name change to legal proceedings or the conflict.

As of now, the reason for the name change remains officially undisclosed.