In just under two weeks, on Monday, June 16, Avner Netanyahu, son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is set to marry his partner Amit Yardeni in a ceremony expected to draw family, friends, and notable public figures. The couple’s engagement was first revealed back in November.
Until a few years ago, Yardeni was relatively unknown to the public. But since becoming part of the Netanyahu family’s inner circle, interest in her life has steadily grown. So who is the woman about to become the daughter-in-law of Israel’s prime minister and his wife, Sara?
So who is Amit Yardeni, soon to be Netanyahu? At 27, she grew up on Moshav Mazor, near Petah Tikva. A graduate of Kfar Hayarok high school, she enlisted in the army in 2015 and served in the Intelligence Corps as a technical project manager. After completing her military service in 2017, she went on to study computer science at Reichman University.
One of her biggest passions is climbing—something she’s loved since she was 13. Yardeni captained her university’s climbing team and has spent countless hours scaling walls and rock faces with friends, family, and even Avner. In 2021, she competed on Ninja Israel, becoming only the third woman in the show’s history to hit the buzzer. She returned the following season as part of the women’s team, with Avner cheering her on from the stands. “She sees every challenge as an opportunity, not an obstacle,” he said at the time.
After her buzzer moment, Yardeni shared a heartfelt message online: “I started training, improving, pushing boundaries, confronting fear, staying determined even when things didn’t go well—and celebrating the wins. I began a wild journey I never expected to fall in love with. Between friends, family, studies (yes, I was a computer science student at the time), and climbing—I kept going. There were auditions, interviews, late nights—and then the moment of truth on the course. Cameras, lights, a buzzing crowd chanting ‘Buzzer! Buzzer!’ I stayed focused. I believed. I made it.”
Between her two Ninja Israel appearances, she also competed in the 21st Maccabiah Games, where she was crowned Israel’s ninja champion. “It was an amazing experience,” she wrote. “The journey—balancing work, family, friends, and everything else—meant even more. The podium moment was a reward for long, hard effort. The Maccabiah is something to be proud of. On to the next goal!”
After finishing her degree, Yardeni joined cybersecurity giant Check Point as a cyber researcher. Today, she leads a research team at the company’s R&D center in Tel Aviv. In February, she proudly shared one of her team's achievements: “We developed a machine learning-based solution that automatically detects and blocks malicious HTML files. It’s already protecting users in real-world scenarios.”
As the wedding day approaches, the event has once again sparked political debate. The celebration is expected to be lavish, drawing both VIPs and likely protesters—similar to the couple’s Henna ceremony held at Yardeni’s family home during Passover, which also drew demonstrations.
Some argue that Avner, like any other citizen, has the right to celebrate his wedding however he chooses. Others, particularly from the protest movement against his father's government, view the timing and extravagance of the event as deeply out of touch—especially during a time of war.
Protest groups have announced plans to demonstrate outside the venue, Ronit Farm, where the wedding will be held. Activists are reportedly organizing motorcades to disrupt guest arrivals and plan to distribute copies of the book Mr. Abandonment and magnets bearing images of hostages. However, not all protest groups are expected to participate.
“We’re not trying to ruin the wedding,” protest leader Ami Dror told Ynet. “We couldn’t if we wanted to.” He explained that the protest isn’t about the marriage itself, but what the celebration symbolizes—especially after 21 months of war, during which many soldiers have held modest, makeshift weddings in between reserve duties. “It’s about the disconnection and arrogance. While reservists got married on wooden crates, he’s hosting a grand event at the country’s most luxurious venue.”
Even voices on the political left are split. MK Naama Lazimi of the "Democrats" party, headed by Yair Golan, urged restraint: “There’s no reason to interfere with ‘Avraham’s’ wedding”—a tongue-in-cheek jab at the prime minister’s televised slip-up where he mistakenly referred to his son as Avraham during a Bible quiz. “The problem isn’t the wedding itself,” she added, “but the complete tone-deafness. While the public grieves, struggles, and goes sleepless, the prime minister’s family puts on a lavish spectacle. It’s a show of detachment from the people.”
