Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's elder son, Yair Netanyahu, is once again in the headlines, this time for lashing out at French President Emmanuel Macron for his statement that Paris could recognise a Palestinian state within months.
"Screw you!" Benjamin Netanyahu's son wrote in English on the social media platform X late on Saturday (April 12).
"Yes to independence of New Caledonia! Yes to independence for French Polynesia! Yes to the independence of Corsica! Yes to independence of the Basque Country! Yes to independence of French Guinea!" he added.
After this, the Israeli PM took to X and said that his son's comments to Macron were "unacceptable".
"I love my son Yair, a true Zionist who cares about the future of the country. Like every citizen, he is entitled to his personal opinion, although the style of his response to President Macron's tweet calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state is unacceptable to me," Netanyahu said in the X post.
אני אוהב את בני יאיר, ציוני אמיתי שדואג לעתיד המדינה.
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 13, 2025
כמו כל אזרח, גם הוא זכאי לדעתו האישית, הגם שסגנון תגובתו לציוצו של הנשיא מקרון שקרא להקמת מדינה פלסטינית, אינו מקובל עלי.
הנשיא מקרון טועה קשות, כאשר הוא ממשיך לקדם את רעיון המדינה הפלסטינית בלב ארצנו, שכל שאיפתה היא השמדת…
Also read: ‘Screw you!’: Netanyahu’s son Yair slams Macron on Palestinian statehood
But, it's not the first time Netanyahu has had to come to the defence of his son after Yair's not-so-proud acts. The elder son of the Israeli PM has always been in controversy.
Who is Yair Netanyahu?
Born in 1991, Yair is the eldest son and the first child of the Israeli PM with his second wife, Sara Netanyahu. Although he has no political position, Yair has often shared his controversial and extremist opinions online.
Graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in international relations, Yair now works as a Podcaster and claims himself a political analyst.
The George Soros meme scandal - 2017
In 2017, Yair had posted a controversial meme on the social media platform Facebook. He claimed that there was a conspiracy being led by George Soros to topple his father's government in Israel.
Also read: 'Blow up Iran's facilities': Netanyahu says war with Tehran 'inevitable' if nuclear talks stall
The meme showed Soros as a puppet master controlling world events. Even though Soros is Jewish, he is often the target of far-right conspiracy theories.
Yair's post was heavily slammed by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which called it “dangerous” and “anti-Semitic", along with other political groups. After the criticism, Yair deleted the post.
The strip club video - 2017
An Israeli news channel aired a secret video clip in which Yair was seen drunk outside a strip club and bragging about his political powers while being accompanied by the government-funded bodyguards. The then 24-year-old was seen bragging about how his father helped a friend secure a giant gas deal.
He was further seen making derogatory comments about women outside the strip club. Yair received massive backlash from Israelis for using taxpayers' money to fund his late-night debauchery.
Also read: Criminal investigation against Sara Netanyahu for 'witness tampering'
After the backlash, Yair publicly apologised for his "nonsense" comments, saying that he was drunk and not in his senses.
'Muslims Should Leave Israel' - 2020
Yair was in the middle of a debate on X about the Temple Mount and Muslim prayer rights when he wrote: “all Muslims should leave the land of Israel.”
The comments drew massive outrage for being Islamophobic. Some of the major supporters of Netanyahu distanced themselves after Yair's comment. They were concerned that it could lead to regional tension in Israel.
Also read: Fraud trial of Israel PM's wife Sara Netanyahu postponed: Court
Again, the post was deleted, BUT couldn't fix the damage already done.
Other controversies
Apart from all this, Yair has been accused of being involved in multiple defamation cases as well. He has also clashed with the Israeli media and even called them "fake news" and "traitors".