Hananya Naftali (
Hebrew: חנניה נפתלי; born 7 July 1995) is an
Israeli journalist.[3][4][5] He serves as the digital aide to the Israeli prime minister,
Benjamin Netanyahu.[6]
Hananya in 2014, while serving on a tank crew in an
IDF tank unit, claimed that the mainstream media spread biased information about Israel during the
2014 Gaza War. [citation needed]
In 2017, after gaining around 200,000 followers on
Facebook, Naftali was able to interview the Israeli prime minister,
Benjamin Netanyahu.[9] A few months later, he began to serve as Netanyahu's deputy social media adviser.[9] He also worked as a freelancer for the
Likud party[7][10]
Military life
Hananaya announced on
X that he was drafted into the army to fight against Hamas in
2023 Israel–Hamas war.[2] 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.[11]
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.[10]
Personal life
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...".[12][9][13][14][15] He has been accused of having
proselytized during his army service, which he denies.[7][13][10]
Naftali is married to India Naftali, an Israeli journalist.[16]