As of now, the 20th Knesset will not go down as Likud Knesset member Benny Begin’s greatest hour. At age 76, he will not be looking to serve another term in the next Knesset either. He arrived in the current Knesset on the shoulders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who reserved the 11th slot in the party list for him so Begin could avoid the ordeal by fire that is the party primary system. When Netanyahu formed the current government, he appointed Begin as minister without portfolio, a position Begin held for 17 days. Then, suddenly, he was forced to resign so that Gilad Erdan could join the Cabinet.
Benny Begin served in the larger-than-life shadow of his father, the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Benny Begin filled various minor ministerial positions and was liked by all, though he did not particularly stick out among his peers. He combined an extremist ideology, which rejected any partition of the land no matter what the cost, with a liberal attitude, which opposed any discrimination against minorities, and which respected human rights.
