Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Son Changes Name? How 'Yonatan Hun' Has Left Tax Officials Guessing

Last Updated:July 11, 2026, 20:03 IST

Yair Netanyahu, the eldest son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has officially altered his legal name to 'Yonatan Hun' as per reports

Official records leaked from the Israel Tax Authority have exposed a dramatic administrative shift within the country’s most scrutinised political family. Yair Netanyahu, the eldest son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has officially altered his legal name to “Yonatan Hun" as per reports.

While tax-withholding documents from late 2024 still bore his birth name, newer 2026 filings show that the 34-year-old firebrand activist and podcaster has permanently adopted the new identity. The regulatory update was processed under his existing national identification number and carries a bizarre, satirical residential address listed simply as “Balfour 0"—an overt, mocking nod to the official Prime Minister’s Residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem.

Decoding the Historical Homage

The components of the newly registered name reflect a calculated assembly of deep-seated familial legacies, drawing from both sides of his parentage:

• The First Name: “Yonatan" serves as a direct tribute to his late paternal uncle, Yonatan “Yoni" Netanyahu. The celebrated military commander became a national icon after he was killed leading the legendary 1976 Operation Entebbe hostage rescue mission in Uganda.
• The Surname: “Hun" pays homage to his maternal grandfather, Shmuel Ben-Artzi. Before immigrating to Israel and Hebraicising his name to Ben-Artzi, the late patriarch was known as Samuel Hun.

While the younger Netanyahu has previously dabbled with variations like “Yair Hoon" across his highly contentious social media profiles, this administrative filing cements it under state law. According to statutory regulations in Israel, official name changes carry a mandatory lock-in period, remaining legally irreversible for a minimum of seven years.

Navigating Global Scrutiny from Abroad

The name change has ignited intense public debate regarding its underlying motivations, particularly given Yair’s prolonged residence in Florida since late 2023. This relocation drew sharp domestic criticism, as it coincided with the massive mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of Israeli military reservists.

Currently registered by domestic tax and social security authorities as self-employed within the advertising sector, he also recently incorporated a lecture-delivery business entity based in Connecticut. Western regulatory agencies routinely monitor the usage of alternate legal names by the immediate relatives of prominent politically exposed persons (PEPs) to ensure absolute compliance with international anti-money laundering and financial transparency frameworks.

About the Author

Pathikrit Sen Gupta

Pathikrit Sen Gupta is a Senior Associate Editor with News18.com and likes to cut a long story short. He writes sporadically on Politics, Sports, Global Affairs, Space, Entertainment, And Food. He tra...Read More

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