Netanyahu unable to remember son's name at Bible contest

PM misnames his youngest during speech, then asks the audience for help in recalling Avner’s name; ‘I was testing you,’ he jokes; slip excised from official YouTube upload

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has raised eyebrows after a clip from an Independence Day event showed him misnaming his youngest son, before asking the crowd for help.

During his speech at Thursday’s annual International Bible Contest in Jerusalem, Netanyahu recalled when his son Avner took part in the competition years ago, but initially called him “Avraham.”

Noting his late father-in-law Shmuel Ben-Artzi’s love of the Bible, Netanyahu said, “One of the people, one of the students influenced by him, was his grandchild, Avraham.”

Netanyahu immediately caught himself — “I said Avraham,” he muttered — but then appeared flustered. After a moment, he turned to the crowd. “What’s his name?” he asked.

“Avner, thank you very much,” he quickly said, after someone apparently spoke up.

Chuckling, Netanyahu jokingly brushed off the memory lapse, saying, “No, I was testing you.”

ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו נשא היום (חמישי) דברים בחידון התנ"ך העולמי שנערך כחלק מחגיגות יום העצמאות ה-77 של מדינת ישראל. במהלך נאומו ביקש רה״מ להתייחס לבנו אבנר, שבשנת 2010 ניצח בעצמו בתחרות, אך קרא לו בטעות "אברהם". הוא עצר במבוכה ושאל את הקהל: "מה שמו?" pic.twitter.com/MtCEey02mN

— צחי הימני (@Tz4H1e_r1g4t) May 1, 2025

When a video of the speech was later uploaded to the official YouTube account of the Prime Minister’s Office, the moment of Netanyahu’s slip was removed.

Recent years have seen an increased focus on the cognitive fitness of the 75-year-old premier, with occasional lapses and mistakes during speeches scrutinized by the media and the opposition.