Yair Netanyahu returns to X, absence fuels rumors about Benjamin Netanyahu; 'Jewish tradition requires...'

Benjamin Netanyahu's son, Yair, had not posted on X for a while, fueling speculations about the Israel PM's well-being, which recent videos sought to dispel.

Benjamin Netanyahu's son is back and active on X again. His disappearance from the social media platform where he's known to be active had sparked speculations about the Israel Prime Minister's well-being.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on the conflict in West Asia, in Tel Aviv. (Israel PMO)

This had come amid online speculations that Netanyahu had died in an Iranian strike. Subsequent videos of the PM raised speculations of being AI generated. However, since then, the Israeli PM has posted from his own profile to dispel such rumors. There was a clip in a coffee shop where Netanyahu held up his hands to show five fingers – a riff on the claims that there was an AI-edited video with six-fingers.

While Yair has not actively posted since he's been back, he has reposted several social media posts on his profile. The most recent post, at the time of writing, is from four hours back.

“Dear world, are you watching? This is what we are fighting against — an Islamic terrorist regime that fires missiles with cluster warheads to kill entire families in their homes. The world must stand with Israel against this evil,” the post reads.

However, Yair's return to social media activity after the brief radio silence has only fueled more speculations about Netanyahu's health and well-being.

Yair Netanyahu X activity fuels speculation

Many pointed out that Yair had gone radio silent for seven days and linked it with Jewish mourning practices.

“Yair Netanyahu—tweet machine on steroids—goes dark on X for exactly 7 days. Jewish tradition: sit shiva for a week after a death. Phones? Forbidden. Mourning only,” one person wrote on X. Another added “Yair Netanyahu went silent on X for 7 days. Because after a family death, Jewish tradition requires ‘sitting shiva’. 7 days of mourning with no phones or devices allowed.”

Shiva is Hebrew for ‘seven’ and signifies seven days of mourning following someone's demise. The practice encourages stepping away from the social and professional world to process one's grief. However, it does not strictly prohibit the use of phones. As per Reform Judaism, one can call if they were close to the deceased.

“It is proper and comforting to write a card or note if you cannot be present. If you were close to the deceased, mourners would usually also welcome a phone call,” it noted. Despite the claims, there is nothing to suggest Yair was in mourning. As per latest reports Netanyahu is alive and well, and coordinating Israel's war efforts against Iran.