Benny Gantz

Gantz in 2017, photo by Roman Yanushevsky/Bigstock.com

Place of Birth: Kfar Ahim, Israel

Date of Birth: 9 June, 1959

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Benny Gantz is an Israeli soldier and politician. He has served as Minister of Defense, since 2020, and Minister of Justice, and Deputy Prime Minister, both, since 2021. He has also been Chief of the General Staff, from 2011 to 2015, and Speaker of the Knesset, in 2020.

He is the son of Malka and Nahum/Nachum Gantz. His father was a Romanian Jew. His mother was a Hungarian Jew, from Mezőkovácsháza. She survived the Holocaust. His parents were among the co-founders of the Moshav Kfar Ahim, a cooperative agricultural community in south-central Israel. He has Austrian Jewish, Polish Jewish, Moravian Jewish, and Alsatian Jewish ancestry farther back.

He is married to Revital Aloni, and has four children.

Benny’s paternal grandfather was Aryeh Ganz (the son of Lipot Ganz and Ester). Aryeh was born in Săcel, Maramures, Romania. He was killed by the Nazis in 1944.

Benny’s paternal grandmother was Frida Fruma Hirsch (the daughter of Shlomo Hirsch and Rivka Pollak). Shlomo was the son of Yechiel Hirsch and Rivka Hirsch. Benny’s great-grandmother Rivka was the daughter of Rabbi Hillel Pollak and Pesel Feldmann. Rabbi Hillel was from the Sasregen Hasidic dynasty.

Benny’s maternal grandfather was named Jonah Weiss.

Benny’s maternal grandmother was the daughter of Janos Teichner and Fani Vanderstein. Janos was the son of Jozsef Teichner and Karlota Wanderstein. Fani was the daughter of Karl Jakob Wanderstein and Josefa Schwarz. Janos and Fani evidently were half-first cousins, sharing the same grandfather.

Source: Genealogy of Benny Gantz – https://www.geni.com

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