You will call him prime minister or Benjamin Netanyahu. But you can’t call him “Bibi” anymore.
The spokesman for the prime minister-elect this week demanded that journalists stop using Netanyahu’s nickname.
“I don’t believe it shows respect to call the prime minister of israel by his nickname,” spokesman Shai Bazak told Israel Radio.
Israeli politicians on both sides of the political spectrum are called by nicknames from their youth, including Ariel “Arik” Sharon, Rafael “Raful” Eitan, Avraham “Beiga” Shochat and Rehavam “Gandhi” Ze’evi.
Netanyahu has said he got the nickname to clear up confusion between himself and an older cousin, Benjam B.
“He was the big B.B. …I was the small B.B.,” Netanyahu said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
