Hananya Naftali
Hananya Naftali | |
|---|---|
חנניה נפתלי | |
 | |
| Born | 1995 (age 28–29) |
| Occupation | Social media influencer |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Spouse | India Naftali[1] |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Israel |
| Years of service | ?, 2023 |
| Battles/wars | |
| Website | www.hnaftali.com |
Hananya Naftali (Hebrew: חנניה נפתלי; born 1995) is an Israeli social media influencer.
Early life[edit]
Naftali was born in Safed in 1995 and grew up in the occupied West Bank. He graduated from Kadoorie Agricultural High School.[2][3]
Social media influencer career[edit]
In 2014, while serving as a tank crew at the IDF tank unit, he claimed that the mainstream media spread biased information on Israel during the 2014 Gaza War. From there, he started to work as a social media influencer disseminating pro-Israel views, and combating fake news, misinformation and disinformation.[2][4]
In 2017, after gaining around 200,000 followers on Facebook, Naftali was able to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.[4] A few months later, he began to serve as Netanyahu's deputy social media adviser.[4] He also worked as a freelancer for the Likud party[2][5]
2023 Israel-Hamas War[edit]
Naftali announced on X that he was drafted into the army to fight against Hamas in 2023 Israel–Hamas war.[1] On 17 October 2023, he posted a tweet: "Israeli Air Force struck a Hamas terrorist base inside a hospital in Gaza," which he later deleted.[6] There was controversy when it wasn't clear if Naftali was or wasn't an authorised spokesman on behalf of the Israeli government, or employed by the Likud party.[5]
Personal life[edit]
Naftali was born to Jewish parents born in the Soviet Union, and while he considers himself a follower of Jesus, does not identify with Messianic Judaism.[4][7][8][9] He has been accused of having proselytized during his army service, which denies.[2][7][5]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "'Goodbye To My Wife': Israeli Journalist Called Up To Fight For Country". ndtv.com. NDTV. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d Kumar, Avi. "The rise of Hananya Naftali, social media star and pro-Israel influencer". jns.org. Jewish News Syndicate. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ Emily, Emily (19 October 2023). "All About Spokesperson Hananya Naftali Deleted Tweets and Social Media". iitnotablealumni.com. IIT Notable Alumni. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d HANANYA NAFTALI, JEWISH BELIEVER IN JESUS, ADVISOR TO NETANYAHU, ABOUT FAITH, ELECTIONS, AND THE ISRAELI-HUNGARIAN RELATIONS. Hetek.hu
- ^ a b c Harkov, Lahav (23 October 2023). "The error-prone Israeli government spokesman who wasn't". Jewish Insider. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ "What is Israel's narrative on the Gaza hospital explosion?". aljazeera.com. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ a b Hoffman, Gil (April 24, 2018). "From praising Jesus to tweeting Bibi, PM's new recruit has colorful past". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
- ^ "Netanyahu Hires an Israeli Jew Who Believes in Jesus". Israel Today. April 25, 2018. Archived from the original on August 11, 2019.
- ^ "A Christian in the IDF? What's That Like?". Israel Today. February 24, 2016. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021.