Benzion Netanyahu

Benzion Netanyahu
Benzion Netanyahu
Born	Mileikowsky (1910-03-25) March 25, 1910 Poland
Nationality	Israel
Education	Hebrew Teachers Seminary, Jerusalem, Israel, teacher's diploma, 1929 Hebrew University of Jerusalem, M.A., 1933 Dropsie College, Ph.D., 1947
Spouse	Tzila Segal September 7, 1944–January 31, 2000 (her death)
Children	Yonatan, Benjamin, Iddo
Parent(s)	Rabbi Nathan Mileikowsky Sarah (Lurie) Mileikowsky
Notes

Benzion Netanyahu (born on March 25, 1910) is an Israeli historian and Zionist activist. He was secretary to Ze'ev Jabotinsky, "the father of Revisionist Zionism", and was a Revisionist leader of the Zionist Movement in the United States. His three sons are

• Yonatan Netanyahu, former commander of Sayeret Matkal, who was killed in action leading the Entebbe hostage rescue.
• Benjamin Netanyahu, current Israeli Prime Minister.
• Iddo Netanyahu, a radiologist and writer.

Early life

Benzion Netanyahu was born in Warsaw, Poland, (then part of the Russian Empire) to the writer and Zionist activist Nathan Mileikowsky. In 1920 the family made Aliyah to the land of Israel. After living in Jaffa, Tel Aviv, and Safed, the family settled in Jerusalem. Benzion studied in the Midrash for teachers run by David Yellin, and later went on to study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He specialized in History and was especially inspired by professor Joseph Klausner. His younger brother, mathematician Elisha Netanyahu, also studied at the Hebrew University, and later became the Dean of Sciences at the Technion.

Origin of the Netanyahu name

Netanyahu's father, Nathan Mileikowsky, used to sign some of his articles with the name Netanyahu. It was a common practice for Zionist activists at the time to adopt a Hebrew name, and his son Benzion eventually adopted this family name. Following the same practice, Benzion Netanyahu occasionally wrote under the name "Nitay". When his son Benjamin Netanyahu lived in the United States, he needed a name Americans could easily pronounce; he chose "Ben Nitay".

Zionist activities

During his studies, Benzion Netanyahu became active in Revisionist Zionists circles, and a close friend to Abba Ahimeir. He was coeditor of Betar (Hebrew monthly), 1933–1934, then editor of the Revisionist Zionist daily newspaper "Ha-Yarden" in Jerusalem 1934–1935. The British Mandate authorities ordered that paper to close. He was editor at the Zionist Political Library, Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv, 1935–1940. He traveled to New York and became the secretary to Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the father of the Revisionist Zionism movement. Shortly thereafter, when Jabotinsky died, Netanyahu remained in New York and continued his Revisionist activities. He was executive director New Zionist Organization of America in New York 1940–1948, the political rival of the mainstream Zionist Organization of America.

In 1944, he married his wife Tzilah, whom he met during his studies in Palestine. The couple had three sons – Yonatan (1946–1976), Benjamin, (1949), and Iddo (1952).

During World War II, he was one of the Revisionist movement's leaders in the U.S. At the same time he pursued his PhD at Dropsie College in Philadelphia, writing his dissertation on Isaac Abrabanel.

Netanyahu believed in Greater Israel. When the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was published (November 29, 1947), he joined others who signed the petition against the plan that was published in the New York Times. During that time, he was active in engaging with Congress members in Washington, D.C.. He returned to Israel in 1949 and was the editor-in-chief of Encyclopedia Hebraica's in Jerusalem, 1948–1962.

He returned to Dropsie College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, first as professor of Hebrew language and literature, and chairman of the department, (1957–1966), then professor of medieval Jewish history and Hebrew literature, (1966–1968). He moved first to University of Denver as professor of Hebraic studies, (1968–1971), then Cornell University as professor of Judaic studies and chairman of department of Semitic languages and literatures, 1971–1975. He is now professor emeritus at both Cornell and Hebrew University.

Return to Israel

Upon arrival in Israel, he tried to start a political career, but failed. At the time, his opinions were considered radical right wing, even by Menachem Begin. However, he continued his academic activities. For various reasons, he did not manage to integrate into the academic faculty of the Hebrew University, but his mentor Joseph Klausner recommended him to be one of the editors of the Encyclopaedia Hebraica, and upon Klausner's death Netanyahu became chief editor.

During the late 1950s and the 1960s, Netanyahu and his family lived alternately in Israel and the U.S (among other times in the U.S., 1963–67), until 1969, when Netanyahu returned to New York in order to edit a Jewish encyclopedia and eventually take a teaching job at Cornell University.

Work

Specializing in the golden age of Jewish History in Spain, Netanyahu is known for his scholarly dispute with Yitzhak Baer. Baer considered the Anusim (forced converts to Christianity) to be a case of "Kiddush Hashem" (sanctification of the name [of God]: i.e., dying or risking oneself to preserve the name of God). According to Baer, therefore, the converts chose to live a double life, with some level of risk, while retaining their original faith. Netanyahu, in contrast, considers the majority of converts to be "Mitbolelim" (assimilationists), and willing converts to Christianity, claiming that the small number of forced converts who did not truly adhere to their new religion were used in a propagandistic fashion by the Inquisition to allege a broader resistance movement. According to Netanyahu, Christian society had never accepted the new converts, for the same reasons Alfred Dreyfus was later rejected by French society. Netanyahu's approach, in downplaying the religious motivation that Baer ascribes to the forced converts of the Inquisition, is considered to reflect secular Zionism.

Later life

After his eldest son, Yonatan, was killed in Operation Entebbe while releasing the hostages of Air France plane in Entebbe, in 1976, the family returned to Israel.

Netanyahu's second son, Benjamin Netanyahu, chose a political career and became Prime Minister of Israel in 1996 and again in 2009. His youngest son, Iddo, is a doctor and a writer. Netanyahu became a widower in 2000, when his wife Tzila died.

Netanyahu harshly criticized his son in the 1990s when, as prime minister, he agreed to concede Hebron to the Palestinian Authority, as required by the Oslo Accords. Many believe that Benzion Netanyahu, who is known for his strong beliefs in Greater Israel, has an enormous influence over his son Benjamin. Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed this assessment when he left Ariel Sharon's Government during the events leading up to the execution of the unilateral disengagement plan from Gaza. At that time he explained his actions as motivated by his fear of "The trial of History" in light of his father's profession as a historian.

Benzion Netanyahu remains politically active, even as he approaches age one hundred years. In September 2004, he signed the petition against the disengagement plan from Gaza; he called it a "Crime against Humanity".

Netanyahu is now serving as an associate professor at the Academy for Jewish Research, a member of the Academy for Fine Arts, and a professor emeritus at Cornell University. He currently resides in Jerusalem.

Controversy

Benzion Netanyahu has often made strong and controversial quotes. These are from an interview with the Israeli newspaper Maariv. Benjamin Netanyahu tried to prevent the publishing but agreed that his brother Ido would have the right to go over the answers before publishing:

• “The Jews and the Arabs are like two goats facing each other on a narrow bridge. One must jump to the river – but that involves a danger of death. The strong goat will make the weaker one jump… and I believe the Jewish power will prevail.”

Q: What does the Arab’s jump mean?

A: “That they won’t be able to face [anymore] the war with us, which will include withholding food from Arab cities, preventing education, terminating electrical power and more. They won’t be able to exist, and they will run away from here. But it all depends on the war, and whether we will win the battles with them.”

• Q: You don’t like the Arabs, to say the least.

A: “The bible finds no worse image than this of the man from the desert. And why? Because he has no respect for any law. Because in the desert he can do as he pleases. The tendency towards conflict is in the essence of the Arab. He is an enemy by essence. His personality won’t allow him any compromise or agreement. It doesn’t matter what kind of resistance he will meet, what price he will pay. His existence is one of perpetuate war.”

• “No solution but force… strong military rule. Any outbreak will bring upon the Arabs enormous suffering. We shouldn’t wait for a big mutiny to start, but rather act immediately with great force to prevent them from going on…

If it’s possible, we should conquer any disputed territory in the land of Israel. Conquer and hold it, even if it brings us years of war. We should conquer Gaza, and parts of the Galil, and the Golan. This will bring upon us a bloody war, since war is difficult for us – we don’t have a lot of territory, while the Arabs have lots of space to retreat to. But that’s the only way to survive here.”

Memberships and awards

• American Academy for Jewish Research (fellow; executive member, 1967--)
• Institute for Advanced Religious Studies (member of advisory council, 1967--)
• American Zionist Emergency Council, 1945–1948

Books by Benzion Netanyahu

• Netanyahu, Benzion (1995). The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth-Century Spain. Random House. ISBN 0679410651
• Netanyahu, Benzion (2002). The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth-Century Spain. Granta. ISBN 0940322390
• Netanyahu, Benzion (2004). The Five Forefathers of Zionism (in Hebrew). Yedioth Ahronoth.
• Netanyahu, Benzion (2001). Don Isaac Abravanel: Statesman and Philosopher. The Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 1-59045-425-1

External links

• Netanyahu, Benzion - Assemblage of articles