NJDC Extends Condolences to PM Netanyahu & Family Following Death of Ben-Zion Netanyahu

NJDC — April 30, 2012 – 2:49 pm | Israel Comments (0) Add a comment

The sympathies of the National Jewish Democratic Council’s leadership, staff, and members go out today to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the loss of his father, Ben-Zion Netanyahu at the age of 102.

Netanyahu was a noted Zionist intellectual and influential scholar of Jewish history. JTA noted:

Netanyahu was born Benzion Mileikowsky in Warsaw in 1910, and immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1920….

Netanyahu was the editor in chief of the Hebrew Encyclopedia for more than a decade beginning in the 1950s. He served as a professor of Jewish studies at various universities in the United States, concluding his academic career as professor emeritus at Cornell University.

From his time as a student in Jerusalem, he was involved in public Zionist activities….

In 1939, Netanyahu traveled to London and persuaded [Ze’ev] Jabotinsky to relocate to the United States and from there mobilize support for the Jewish state. Jabotinsky died shortly after their arrival in the U.S.; Netanyahu continued to raise support for the Jewish state throughout the war and afterward.

In this context he met with many U.S. Jewish leaders of the period, as well as lawmakers, writers and other leaders. Upon the establishment of the State of Israel, he returned from the United States and moved with his young family to Jerusalem’s Talpiot neighborhood. 

He was predeceased by his wife, Tzila, with whom he was married for more than 50 years, and a son Yonatan, who was killed during a hostage-rescue operation at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. Along with Benjamin, he also is survived by a son Ido, a doctor, author and playwright.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Prime Minister and the Netanyahu family. May Ben-Zion Netanyahu’s memory always serve as a blessing.

Click here to read his obituary from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. 

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