Cheltenham High School alums send Benjamin Netanyahu his class yearbook

The Israeli prime minister recently got a blast from the past courtesy of a few former classmates from Cheltenham High School.

Alums from the 1973 class sent Benjamin Netanyahu, a 1967 graduate, his class yearbook.

Netanyahu left school around the time of the Six Day War in June 1967 and joined the Israel Defense Forces. He missed out on the graduation ceremonies and his yearbook.

In April, 1973 classmates David Gorewitz, Sam Katz, Bonnie Mason and Chuck Langerman collaborated via an active class Facebook site. While none of the four knew Netanyahu personally, the alumni of the Montgomery County high school sent him a note on behalf of their class congratulating him on winning a fourth term.

» READ MORE: Passions rise in Philly amid escalating conflict between Hamas and Israel

They were unsure the leader would even receive the package let alone send a response back, but Netanyahu replied to them in June.

"I expected a form letter," Gorewitz, who mailed the package to Netanyahu, said. "When it was a personal card, I was kind of surprised. We thought that it was nice that he took the time out."

The note from Netanyahu read: "Thank you for your kind message of congratulations and support. I appreciate your sending me the copy of the Cheltenham High School yearbook. It brought back many fond memories."

According to the yearbook, Netanyahu was active on the debate team and in the chess club while he attended Cheltenham. He played left wing for the soccer team and Langerman joked, "That was the exact opposite of his political views."

» READ MORE: Netanyahu victory in Israel’s election means the end of illusions about a Palestinian state | Trudy Rubin

Netanyahu rivals baseball player Reggie Jackson, a 1964 graduate, as the most famous alumnus of Cheltenham, but Langerman thinks the world leader tops the list.

“Netanyahu gets a lot of grief,” Gorewitz said. “We have a lot of respect for him.”