Benjamin Netanyahu Fast Facts

Mother: Cela (Segal) Netanyahu

Marriages: Sara Ben-Artzi (1991-present); Fleur Cates (1981-1988, divorced); Miriam Haran (divorced)

Children: with Sara Ben-Artzi: Avner and Yair; with Miriam Haran: Noa

Education: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, B.S., 1974 and M.S., 1976

Military service: Israeli Defense Forces, 1967-1972, Captain

Religion: Jewish

Other Facts:
Leader of the right-wing Likud Party.

Is known throughout Israel by the nickname “Bibi.”

Spent his teenage years in the United States; went to high school in Philadelphia.

First Israeli prime minister to be born after the state was founded in 1948.

Netanyahu’s brother, Yonatan, was killed in action in 1976 while leading a mission to rescue Israeli passengers on a hijacked Air France plane.

Netanyahu organized two international conferences on ways to combat terrorism, one in 1979 and another in 1984.

Timeline:
1967-1972 – Serves in the Israeli Defense Forces in the elite commando unit Sayeret Matkal.

1976-1978 – Works in the United States for Boston Consulting Group.

1982-1984 – Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Embassy in Washington.

1984-1988 – Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations.

1988 – Returns to Israel and wins a seat in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

1988-1991 – Deputy foreign minister under Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.

1991-1992 – Deputy Minister in the prime minister’s office.

1993 – Is elected the Likud party chairman.

June 1996-July 1999 – Prime Minister of Israel.

September 1996 – Has first meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

October 23, 1998 – Arafat and Netanyahu sign the Wye Memorandum, an interim accord, exchanging land and power to secure Israel from political violence.

1999 – Following his defeat in the elections, Netanyahu resigns from the Knesset.

1999-2002 – Works in the private sector.

2002-2003 – Minister of Foreign Affairs.

2003-2005 – Minister of Finance.

August 2005 – Resigns in protest over the plan to withdraw Jewish settlers from Gaza and return their land to Palestinian control.

December 2005 – Is elected leader of the Likud party.

August 2007 – Is re-elected.

February 10, 2009 – After the election, the results remain unclear as to who will become prime minister, Netanyahu or chief rival Tzipi Livni. Both make claims to the position.

February 19, 2009 – Wins backing from Israeli parliament.

February 20, 2009 – Becomes the prime minister-designate and begins working on the formation of the new government.

March 31, 2009 – Is sworn in as prime minister.

September 1-2, 2010 – Attends a meeting in Washington hosted by US President Barack Obama to possibly restart peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Other leaders in attendance are Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

September 14, 2010 – Meets with Abbas in Egypt for second round of peace talks in two weeks. Also in attendance are US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Special Envoy to Middle East George Mitchell.

May 4, 2011 – Denounces the reconciliation agreement signed by Fatah and Hamas in Egypt and calls on Abbas to “immediately cancel the reconciliation deal with Hamas and choose the path of peace with Israel.”

May 24, 2011 – Addresses a joint meeting of Congress. He says that he is prepared to make “painful compromises” for a peace settlement with the Palestinians. However, he repeats that Israel will not accept a return to its pre-1967 boundaries.

June 13, 2012 – Israel releases a 153-page report criticizing Netanyahu’s handling of a raid against a Turkish aid flotilla to Gaza in 2010, where nine Turkish activists were killed.

September 27, 2012 – In an address to the UN, Netanyahu urges the General Assembly to draw “a clear red line” to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

October 9, 2012 – Calls for an early election after failing to agree on a budget with his coalition partners.

October 9, 2012 – Israel’s parliament votes to dissolve itself and schedules an election for January 22, 2013.

January 22, 2013 – According to media exit polling, Netanyahu’s Likud Beitenu party wins 31 Knesset seats in the election. The Yesh Atid party, a new centrist movement, comes in a surprising second place with at least 19 seats.

March 24, 2013 – Apologizes to Turkey for the 2010 raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla Mavi Marmara.

October 1, 2013 – In a speech at the UN General Assembly, Netanyahu accuses Iranian President Hassan Rouhani of seeking to obtain a nuclear weapon and describes him as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a wolf who thinks he can pull the wool over the eyes of the international community.”

November 24, 2013 – Tells reporters that the Iran nuclear deal that world leaders reached with Tehran is a “historic mistake.”

April 27, 2014 – Tells CNN that Israel cannot negotiate with the government of Abbas while it is backed by Hamas, saying, “I call on President Abbas: Tear up your pact with Hamas.”

September 29, 2014 – Warns delegates at the UN General Assembly not to overlook threats posed by Iran and Hamas in their zeal to defeat ISIS.

March 3, 2015 – Addresses a joint session of Congress.

March 18, 2015 – Is re-elected prime minister.

October 1, 2015 – Netanyahu says he is “prepared to immediately resume” direct peace talks with the Palestinian Authority “without any preconditions whatsoever.” His remarks come a day after the leader of the Palestinian Authority said Palestinians are stepping away from the Oslo Accords.

October 20, 2015 – During a speech at the 37th Zionist Congress, Netanyahu says that Adolf Hitler “didn’t want to exterminate the Jews” but was urged to do so by Haj Amin al-Husseini, a former grand mufti of Jerusalem.

January 2, 2017 – Israeli authorities question Netanyahu for three hours. He is suspected of corruption related to benefits he allegedly received from businessmen. The prime minister denies the allegations, suggesting that there are political motives for the probe. In a Facebook post, Netanyahu lists the charges and says that investigators will find “nothing” to support each allegation.

August 4, 2017 – It is announced that Ari Harow, Netanyahu’s former chief of staff has agreed to testify against him in the graft probe.

February 13, 2018 – Israeli police announce there is “sufficient evidence” to indict Netanyahu on criminal charges in two corruption cases. According to a police statement, authorities found evidence of “accepting bribes, fraud, and breach of trust.” Netanyahu says the allegations against him will be dismissed.

March 2, 2018 – Netanyahu is questioned for five hours in Case 4000, which alleges he gave regulatory benefits worth up to 1 billion shekels (approximately $280 million) to his friend in exchange for favorable media coverage. This is the third case in which he has been named as a suspect. Police simultaneously interrogate Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, at a different location. Netanyahu proclaims his and his wife’s innocence in a Facebook video shortly after the interrogations conclude.

March 27-28, 2018 – Is hospitalized with a mild viral illness of the upper respiratory system, and released after a series of exams.

April 30, 2018 – During an address from the Israel Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu says Israel has evidence Iranian officials were lying when they said Iran wasn’t pursuing nuclear weapons and that the Islamic republic is keeping an “atomic archive” at a secret compound. The following day, IAEA spokesman Fredrik Dahl tells CNN that there are “no credible indications of activities in Iran relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device after 2009.”

September 27, 2018 – Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, Netanyahu claims that Iran has a second “secrect” nuclear facility and warehouse in Tehran. He offered no proof of the claim or details.

February 28, 2019 – Israel’s attorney general announces that Netanyahu will be indicted on bribery and breach of trust charges stemming from three investigations, pending a hearing. The hearing is not expected to take place before April’s election, in which Netanyahu will seek a fifth term in office. Netanyahu responds by saying that the “left” has “exerted extraordinary pressure on the attorney general” in an attempt to “influence the elections and to crown a left-wing government.”

April 9, 2019 – Is elected to his fifth term as prime minister.