Begin’s Son to Seek Likud Bloc Nomination for Knesset Seat
The only son of former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, 45-year-old geologist Benyamin Begin, will attempt to run for the Knesset (Parliament) in November as a nominee of his father’s rightist Likud Bloc, party aides said Sunday.
The younger Begin, who is lecturing in the United States, advised Likud headquarters from Colorado that he will return to run in the party’s June 29 nomination process. National elections are scheduled for Nov. 1.
Begin’s sole foray into politics was an unsuccessful attempt to challenge Ariel Sharon, industry and trade minister, for a senior Likud post at a party congress two years ago.
The Likud officials said he is relatively sure of gaining a safe place on the party’s list since he was popular among Likud members and because it is widely recognized that his name would be an electoral asset.
Menachem Begin, who became prime minister in 1977, resigned in 1983.
At the time, many Israelis said he was depressed by the high number of casualties in the war in Lebanon, Israel’s longest and most divisive war.
The former prime minister is now a virtual recluse.
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