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Professor Ben-Zion Netanyahu, Father of Israel PM, Buried in Jerusalem
By Israel News Agency Staff Jerusalem, Israel --- May 1, 2012 .... Part of the following was communicated by the Israel Government Press Office to the Israel News Agency. The father of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Professor Ben-Zion Netanyahu, who passed away on Monday has been buried in Jerusalem. Ben-Zion Netanyahu, 102, died at home. His son, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was able to visit him one last time. Ben-Zion Netanyahu was born in Warsaw on March 25, 1910, named Ben-Zion Mileikowsky. In 1920, he and his family immigrated to the Land of Israel. In 1944, he married Tzila, whom he had met during his studies in the Land of Israel. Ben-Zion Netanyahu had three sons - the late Col. and Israeli hero Yonatan Netanyahu, who fell during the historic and successful Operation Yonatan at Entebbe, Benjamin, the present Prime Minister of Israel, and Ido, a doctor, author and playwright. Prof. Netanyahu was among the great historians of the Jewish nation. In his research, he focused on the history of the medieval Spanish Jewish community and the history of Zionism. Among his books are a biography of Don Isaac Abravanel, a history of the Spanish Marranos and his major work, 'The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain, which received global acclaim. He also authored 'The Founding Fathers of Zionism' about the lives of the founders of political Zionism including Leon Pinsker, Theodor Herzl, Max Nordau, Israel Zangwill and Zeev Jabotinsky. Prof. Netanyahu was the editor-in-chief of the Hebrew Encyclopedia for over a decade. He served as Professor of Jewish Studies at various US universities and concluded his academic career as Professor emeritus at Cornell University. From his days as a student in Jerusalem, he was involved in public Zionist activities. He was a supporter of Zeev Jabotinsky and edited a newspaper that also featured Prof. Joseph Klausner and poet Uri Tzvi Greenberg on its staff. He defended those who were accused of Chaim Arlozorov's murder and, to this end, persuaded his father, Rabbi Natan Mileikowsky, to enlist the support of Rabbi Avraham Isaac Hacohen Kook to defend the accused. Rabbi Kook later delivered a moving eulogy for Rabbi Mileikovsky. In 1939, Ben-Zion Netanyahu traveled to London and persuaded Jabotinsky to relocate to the US out of the view that the latter would be the rising power in the world and that from there it would be possible to mobilize support for the Jewish state. Jabotinsky died shortly after their arrival in the US; Netanyahu continued to raise support for the Jewish state throughout World War Two and afterward. During this period, he met with many US Jewish leaders, as well as with US Senators, Congressmen, authors, poets and leaders, including Dean Acheson and President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Upon the establishment of the State of Israel, Prof. Netanyahu returned from the US and moved with his young family to Jerusalem's Talpiot neighborhood. He dedicated himself to his research, in which he was assisted by his wife Tzila, a native of Petah Tikva who was his life's partner for over 50 years. In 1952, the Netanyahu family moved to its home a 4 Haportzim Street, where he passed away.
Thousands of people attended the funeral of Ben-Zion Netanyahu. The funeral took place at Har Hamenuchot in Jerusalem. The elder Netanyahu was eulogized by a long list of family and friends, including Ido Netanyahu (brother of Binyamin), Israel Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Israel President Shimon Peres. In his eulogy, President Peres said that: “we have lost a leader.” Addressing the Israel Prime Minister, he said: “your father was a historian, and you are making history with the same strong feeling and tradition. He was a great teacher who left behind a great leader for his people.” Barak called Ben-Zion Netanyahu “a great Zionist, a man who went in the ways of Herzl and Jabotinsky, who worked with Jabotinsky for a long time, and a superb academic.” Rabbi Shmuley Boteach described Professor Benzion Netanyahu as a man of rare humility, scholarship, patriotism and sacrifice. "His commitment to the State of Israel and the Jewish community will long serve as an inspiration and blessing to people everywhere. And there can be no question that the iron commitment toward the Jewish people's security shown by Bibi, especially with regard to the current nuclear threat posed by Iran, was inculcated in a son who deeply loved, admired, and respected his learned father."
Joel
Leyden and Bernard Levy contributed to the above news story.
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