Benjamin Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister of Israel since its inception.
Born in Tel Aviv on October 21, 1949, he grew up in Jerusalem before moving with his family to Pennsylvania during his high school years, where his father taught history. In 1967 Netanyahu returned to Israel and joined the IDF's Sayeret Matkal special forces unit, where he served until 1973.
He took part in many military operations, including a 1972 rescue mission of hostages in a hijacked Sabena airplane, during which he was shot in the shoulder. Netanyahu finished his military service in 1972, but returned to serve in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, after which he was promoted to the rank of Captain.
His brother Yonatan "Yoni," an IDF officer, was killed during Operation Entebbe in 1976 at the Entebbe Airport in Uganda where Israelis were being held hostage. His was the only death resulting from the mission.
He has degrees in architecture and business management from MIT. He also studied political science at MIT and Harvard University. He served as Israel's ambassador to the UN from 1984-1988, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs under Ariel Sharon's government.
In 1993 Netanyahu was elected Likud party chairman and served as the leader of the opposition until being elected prime minister in 1996. In 2009, he was elected prime minister for the second time, in January 2013 a third, and in March 2015 a fourth.
He is married to Sara Netanyahu with whom he has two children, Yair and Avner.
In 2018, the Mossad stole Iran's nuclear archive. Netanyahu later presented the information to the international community. Netanyahu strongly opposes a nuclear deal with Iran.
Under the rotation government set by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, Netanyahu serves as the leader of the opposition.
"The call went very well," Trump wrote, adding "we are on the same side of every issue," without elaborating further.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich addressed Shin Bet employees in a letter on Tuesday, following the Monday affidavit submitted by the agency's chief.
Netanyahu was concerned for Israel's security after billionaire Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan confirmed that he worked to negotiate arms deals on behalf of Israel in 2013.
Bar is fighting to preserve the Shin Bet’s independence, that of the next agency chief, and the ability of gatekeepers to stand firm against the Prime Minister.
We don’t need to agree on everything. But we do need to believe – again – that we’re all in this together.
The demonstration in Tel Aviv was also intensified due to the affidavit of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.
The hearing took place the same day that Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar submitted an affidavit against the government’s attempt to fire him.
Future prime ministers and Shin Bet chiefs need to know how far they can go and where there are guardrails.
Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar claims he called the prime minister at 5:15 a.m., but Netanyahu said Bar was making false claims.
Netanyahu's office argued that Bar did not inform the prime minister in a timely manner on the morning of October 7.
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