Full Breakdown
Yair Netanyahu Registers New Legal Name “Yonatan Han”
7/10/2026, 1:58:20 PM
Core Event – Legal Name Registration
Israeli tax authority records show that Yair Netanyahu, the eldest son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has officially changed his name to “Yonatan Han.” The same Israeli identification number appears on the new tax-withholding certificates issued in 2025, whereas the December 2024 certificates listed him as Yair Netanyahu. The filing also includes a fictional address listed as “Balfour 0.”
Background & Family Naming History
The surname “Han” derives from the original family name of the prime minister’s mother-in-law, Shmuel Ben Artzi, before it was Hebraized to Ben-Artzi. The chosen first name, Yonatan, honors the prime minister’s late brother, Yonatan Netanyahu, who was killed during the 1976 Operation Entebbe rescue mission (later renamed Operation Yonatan). Yair’s younger brother, Avner Netanyahu, similarly adopted the pseudonym “Avi Avner Segal” when purchasing a London apartment in 2022 and when enrolling at Regent’s Park College, Oxford. The Netanyahu family has a history of name changes: Benjamin Netanyahu himself used “Ben Nitai” while living in the United States. Israeli law permits a name change once every seven years, with any earlier request requiring written approval from the Population and Immigration Authority.
Official Statements – Prime Minister’s Remarks on Naming
When asked why he and his wife Sara did not name a son after Yonatan, Prime Minister Netanyahu explained that assigning such a legacy “places a very heavy burden on a child.” He added that the family “definitely did not want that to happen,” noting that he thinks of his brother “every day.”
Verbatim Quotes
- “Yair Netanyahu, the son of the Prime Minister, has changed his name and is now registered with the Israeli authorities under the name "Yonatan Han," the Haaretz newspaper reported on Wednesday.” — *Haaretz*
- “The name "Han" is the original last name of his maternal grandfather, Shmuel Ben Artzi.” — *Haaretz*
- “On purpose,” — Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel
- “Sara and I decided not to do that, because you place a very heavy burden on a child. We definitely did not want that to happen. He fell 50 years ago, and there is not a day that I do not think of him.” — Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel
These developments illustrate a continued pattern of the Netanyahu family using alternate surnames for privacy or personal reasons, now formalized through Israel’s legal name-change process.
