Benny Begin, son of Likud founder, calls for early elections, says government wants 'to rule without limits’

Benny Begin, son of Menachem Begin, the founder of Likud – the political party currently led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – posted a harsh critique of Netanyahu’s government over the weekend, accusing it of seeking control rather than effective governance.

Begin served in the Likud with Netanyahu as recently as 2016, before retiring from politics in 2021 after serving as a Knesset member for the New Hope party.

After the announcement of the cabinet vote of no confidence in Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, and attempts to remove Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, Begin made his first social media post in a while, to address the current political crisis. 

In his Facebook post, the first in almost a year and a half, Begin said that in one of his last conversations with Netanyahu before leaving politics, he warned him, “you are on a downward spiral.” 

“Only the two of us were in the room, and I turned to my younger friend, Benjamin Netanyahu: 'I’m telling you this as a friend: pay attention – you are on a downward spiral,’” Begin wrote to Facebook. “This was in May 2016.”  

Begin also remarked that when Netanyahu asked him to join his coalition, he declined, saying that his government would attempt to pass “bad laws.” 

Despite his criticism of Netanyahu, Begin said the inclusion of his name “in the lists of 'victims of Netanyahu' in the media has no basis,” saying he remembers his time in politics with Netanyahu as “four good years in which we worked out of friendship and trust.” He also stated that he still has fond memories of their time working together. 

“But I did not foresee the depth of the downfall,” Begin continued. “The ongoing, deliberate attack on the Supreme Court and the government’s decision today, in wartime, to remove the legal advisor to the government, Attorney Gali Baharav-Miara, who does her work faithfully, indicates that this government does not want to rule but to control – to control without limits and without wisdom, in a new and dangerous regime whose name is still unknown, but it will not be a democracy.” 

He called out Netanyahu’s recent remarks against the “deep state.” 

“One of its signs is accusing opponents of being conspirators on a bizarre mission of the 'deep state,' and even Netanyahu has recently resorted to this. This is not what we learned, and this is not how we acted together a few years ago.” 

The former political partner of Netanyahu called for early elections in order to restore the public’s trust. 

“The destructive process will be halted with a voter’s ballot cast in the public judgment day,” he concluded.