Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Elkins Park upbringing and political trajectory were profiled by Philadelphia Magazine today.
The story outlines the 1967 Cheltenham High School graduate’s status, legacy, and public image following the massacre and coordinated attacks that took place in Israel on October 7, 2023.
An excerpt:
He’s branded by many around the world as a corrupt war criminal whose military decisions have devastated Gaza. He’s lauded in other quarters as a fierce defender against Israel’s existential threat. For diaspora Jews, his actions have torn faith communities apart — polarizing former allies and synagogue friends in the same way Donald Trump divides people in the United States.
The article also discusses the Netanyahu family: Ben’s father, Benzion, was “a serious and studious man, wanted his sons to go to college in America, and Cheltenham High School’s rigorous academics would prepare them well. A bonus: Elkins Park, at the time, was predominantly Jewish, which perhaps gave the Netanyahus comfort as they adjusted to life in a new country.”
Ben’s brother, Jonathan, was killed in Entebbe, Uganda in 1976 while attempting to free Israeli hostages. Earlier this month, Uganda’s military unveiled a monument honoring the Israeli Lieutenant Colonel.
The profile concludes with a series of statements about the prime minister provided by high school classmates and teachers.
Two examples are below:
Arnold Meshkov, Cheltenham High School classmate: Ben was very smart, very driven academically. He and I had a lot of honors classes together. He was the first Israeli that I had ever met. And he did not have a lot of close friends. He just wasn’t really interested in making strong friendships with us — you know, dating girls and smoking cigarettes and hanging out. He was not one of that group. He was aloof, and I think part of that was he knew he was going to go back to Israel and serve in the military — so why waste his time hanging out at the Littleton Diner smoking and complaining about the girls we went out with?
I wouldn’t say he was angry. He was very definite. I remember our 10th-grade history teacher, Mr. Barron, who let us go off and express our opinions in a respectful way. I debated with Ben in history class a lot, and usually I lost the argument. He felt that negotiating with the Arab population was not going to be successful. And he had a very right-wing, militaristic attitude toward it. He just had strong opinions about Israel. There were two sides of the story — there was his side and then there was the wrong side. He didn’t care what anybody else thought because he was right.
Irving Nathanson, Ogontz Junior High shop teacher and soccer coach: On the soccer field, he was somewhat, to put it plainly, less than tolerant of the American kids, because to him, soccer was second nature. He was better, far better.
The American kids day by day you couldn’t predict, but you could always predict Benjamin because he was straightforward. He was very serious about everything he did. I had him as an industrial arts student in the ninth grade. Ben enjoyed his time with his hands, working in the shop. He operated the various machines in the shop, the band saw, jigsaws, routers, and what have you. I taught Sunday school at the Rodeph Shalom synagogue in Philadelphia. And I invited Benji — I called him Benji — to speak to the kids in the class about Israel, and he gladly did so, and he was well-liked.
His brother Jonathan had been a brilliant student, probably more brilliant, I have to say this, than either of his two brothers. Everyone knew it. I mean, all the teachers knew it, and I’ve been in contact with the high school teachers and we discussed it frequently.
In April, Netanyahu was named to TIME Magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2026. In July 2025, he made headlines in The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer regarding a petition calling for his removal from Cheltenham School District’s hall of fame.
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