Former government minister and Knesset member Dan Meridor announced Sunday that he is rejoining the Likud 11 years after resigning from Netanyahu's cabinet and five years after leaving the Merkaz party which he co-founded, and which no longer exists.
Can't see the video of Dan Meridor? Click here.
"One needs to look forwards, not backwards," Meridor said. "I look at the challenges that Israel faces today in the economic field, in the security and defense field and in the political field and the peace process – I think the Likud is the party that should lead Israel and I think it's not right to continue to sit at home enjoying life as I did the past five years."
Likud MKs Disagree with Meridor
A number of Likud Members of Knesset disagreed Sunday with Dan Meridor's criticism of Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann's attempts at legal reform during the course of the his news conference.
MK Gilad Erdan told Ynet, "There's a need for much improvement and change in the court system," noting that the court had entered areas that he thought were exclusively the government's. MK Yuval Shteinitz agreed with some of Minister Friedmann's reforms, if not his style. MK Michael Eitan noted the Likud's support of most of Friedmann's reforms, but granted Meridor, a former Justice Minister, his right to think otherwise.
'The Princes'
Meridor announced his decision to rejoin just a few days after a similar announcement by Benny Begin. Both Meridor and Begin are referred to as Likud "princes" because both are sons of Likud founders. Benny Begin is the son of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and Dan Meridor is the son of Eliyahu Meridor, a Knesset Member for Likud predecessor Herut.
Meridor was first elected to the Knesset in 1984 and remained there as a Likud MK until 1999. He served as Justice Minister and later as Finance Minister. In 1999 he was elected again, but this time as part of the Merkaz party which he co-founded.
Meridor explains his motivation for rejoining Netanyahu in the accompanying video.