Hananya Naftali

Naftali was born in Safed in 1995 and grew up in the West Bank. He graduated from Kadoorie Agricultural High School.{{cite web |last1=Kumar |first1=Avi |title=The rise of Hananya Naftali, social media star and pro-Israel influencer |url=https://www.jns.org/the-rise-of-hananya-naftali-social-media-star-and-pro-israel-influencer/ |website=jns.org |date=8 December 2022 |publisher=Jewish News Syndicate |access-date=12 January 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Emily |first1=Emily |title=All About Spokesperson Hananya Naftali Deleted Tweets and Social Media |url=https://iitnotablealumni.com/spokesperson-hananya-naftali-deleted-tweets/#google_vignette |website=iitnotablealumni.com |date=19 October 2023 |publisher=IIT Notable Alumni |access-date=12 January 2024 |archive-date=12 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112175125/https://iitnotablealumni.com/spokesperson-hananya-naftali-deleted-tweets/#google_vignette |url-status=dead }}

In 2017, after gaining around 200,000 followers on Facebook, Naftali was able to interview the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.[https://www.hetek.hu/cikkek/english-news/1998januar/we-are-sick-and-tired-leaders-are-great-talk-and-weak-action HANANYA NAFTALI, JEWISH BELIEVER IN JESUS, ADVISOR TO NETANYAHU, ABOUT FAITH, ELECTIONS, AND THE ISRAELI-HUNGARIAN RELATIONS]. Hetek.hu A few months later, he began to serve as Netanyahu's deputy social media adviser. He also worked as a freelancer for the Likud party.{{cite web |last1=Harkov |first1=Lahav |title=The error-prone Israeli government spokesman who wasn't |url=https://jewishinsider.com/2023/10/hananya-naftali-spokesman-israeli-government-war/ |website=Jewish Insider|date=23 October 2023 |access-date=12 January 2024}}

Hananaya announced on X that he was drafted into the army to fight against Hamas in 2023 Israel–Hamas war.

On 17 October 2023, in response to the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion, he posted a tweet: "Israeli Air Force struck a Hamas terrorist base inside a hospital in Gaza." He later deleted this tweet,{{cite web |title=What is Israel's narrative on the Gaza hospital explosion? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/18/what-is-israels-narrative-on-the-gaza-hospital-explosion |website=aljazeera.com |access-date=12 January 2024}} after the Israeli government claimed a misfired Palestinian rocket was responsible for the explosion.{{cite journal |last1=Stancati |first1=Margherita |last2=Trofimov |first2=Yaroslav |date=18 October 2023 |title=U.S., Experts Say Evidence Suggests Palestinian Militants' Rocket Hit Gaza Hospital |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israel-tries-to-back-up-claims-it-didnt-attack-gaza-hospital-a8cc3405 |journal=The Wall Street Journal |volume= |issue= |pages= |doi= |doi-access=}} There was controversy when it wasn't clear whether Naftali was actually authorised to speak on behalf of the Israeli government, or was in fact employed by the Likud party.{{r|jinsider}}

Naftali claims Mount Hermon, in the Golan Heights, to be a part of Israel proper and have also in the past posted how the lands from the Nile to the Euphrates belongs to Israel{{cite web | url=https://x.com/HananyaNaftali/status/1874456204350492919 | title=Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) on X | work=X (formerly Twitter) }}{{Secondary source needed|date=April 2025}}

Naftali was born to Jewish parents born in the Soviet Union. While he considers himself a follower of Jesus, he identifies with Messianic Judaism. He said: "I am Jewish, but I follow the teachings of the New Testament as well. It is not my job to tell people what they should believe in."{{Cite news |last=Avi |first=Kumar |date=2 December 2022 |title=The rise of Hananya Naftali, social media star and pro-Israel influencer [I am Jewish, but I follow the teachings of the New Testament as well. It is not my job to tell people what they should believe in...] |url=https://www.jns.org/the-rise-of-hananya-naftali-social-media-star-and-pro-israel-influencer/ |work=JNS}}{{cite news|title=From praising Jesus to tweeting Bibi, PM's new recruit has colorful past|first=Gil|last=Hoffman|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|date=April 24, 2018|access-date=February 12, 2024|url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/from-praising-jesus-to-tweeting-bibi-pms-new-recruit-has-colorful-past-552612}}{{cite news|title=Netanyahu Hires an Israeli Jew Who Believes in Jesus|date=April 25, 2018|work=Israel Today|url=https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/netanyahu-hires-an-israeli-jew-who-believes-in-jesus/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811100153/https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/netanyahu-hires-an-israeli-jew-who-believes-in-jesus/|archive-date=August 11, 2019}}{{cite news|title=A Christian in the IDF? What's That Like?|work=Israel Today|date=February 24, 2016|url=https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/a-christian-in-the-idf-whats-that-like/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925143920/https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/a-christian-in-the-idf-whats-that-like/|archive-date=September 25, 2021}} He has been accused of having proselytized during his army service, which he denies.{{r|jpost}}{{r|jinsider}}

Naftali is married to India Naftali, an Israeli journalist of Iranian descent.{{Cite web |title="Goodbye To My Wife": Israeli Journalist Called Up To Fight For Country |url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/goodbye-to-my-wife-israeli-journalist-called-up-to-fight-for-country-4465819 |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=NDTV.com}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://www.hnaftali.com/}}

{{Authority control}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Naftali, Hananya}}

Category:21st-century Israeli journalists

Category:Israeli YouTubers

Category:1995 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from Safed

Category:Likud politicians

Category:Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent

Category:Israeli Messianic Jews

Category:Israeli military personnel of the Israel–Hamas war