Israel’s PM under fire over his son dating non jewish

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Israel is boosting ties with Norway: recently the Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa agreed on cooperation with the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Norway's University of Stavanger to train Israeli engineers in the oil industry and services. However, not only engineers are contributing to bilateral relations.

Sunday, Norwegian media proudly reported that a Norwegian girl studying at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzilya is dating Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's son Yair, The Times of Israel writes.

According to a report published by the Norwegian daily Dagen, the tall, svelte blonde Sandra Leikager met the younger Netanyahu at the Interdisciplinary Center, where they are both pursuing a degree. A source close to Yair, confirmed the two were dating and that the girl is not Jewish.  Netanyahu, 23, recently completed his mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces, where he served as a corporal in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. He currently studies International Relations at IDC. Leikanger, 25, studies Communications, Dagen reported.

According to the report, Leikanger hails from the southern Norwegian city of Grimstad, which is known for its conservative Christian population.  Leikanger’s sister Ida, who also goes by the Israeli name Hila, lives in Israel as well, according to Facebook. Their mother, Anne Kirstine, often posts pro-Israel content on her Facebook page, and visited Israel this fall. Leikanger’s family reportedly belongs to Norway’s Evangelical community.

Israel’s PM is well aware of the situation and when he met Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, he boasted of his son's new relationship. When the two sat down to discuss bilateral issues and the “new-found friendship” between Jerusalem and Oslo under Solberg’s newly elected right-center government, Netanyahu reportedly told Solberg that his son traveled with Leikanger in Norway over the summer, and that the two had been dating for months.

Photos obtained by the newspaper from Leikanger’s Facebook page, which has since been made private, show the happy couple posing at a restaurant and on the Norwegian seafront.

According to the report, the two take a bodyguard along when they go on dates in Israel.
However, Netanyahu’s confession appeared to be a dangerous move. Israeli Prime Minister was under fire Sunday from religious lawmakers following a report that his son was dating a non-Jewish woman, media said.

The anti-assimilation group Lehava wrote on Monday: "Bibi's son has found a Gentile! His father is proud of him and gives legitmacy to the assimilation and destruction of the Jewish people." The extremist organization Lehava, which says it aims "to prevent assimilation in the Holy Land", called on Netanyahu "to prevent this relationship".

"Your grandchildren, as you know, will not be Jewish," Lehava director Bentzi Gopshtain warned the Israeli premier in a Facebook post.  Yair is the son of Netanyahu's third wife, Sara. Netanyahu was himself married to a non-Jewish woman, Fleur Cates, of British origin, who converted to Judaism, between 1981 and 1984.

Nissim Zeev, a member of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, told the Jerusalem Post on Sunday Netanyahu must "display national responsibility" as prime minister.

"It's a big problem," he said. "I bet it pains him."

MP Moshe Feiglin, a hardline member of Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, told the Jerusalem Post the relationship "is very unfortunate".

Judaism is traditionally matrilineal, in which a child's religion is determined by that of its mother.