Itamar Ben-Gvir heading to the Knesset

Dr. Ben Ari, number 4 on National Union party list, wants far-Right activist as media, legal adviser.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Ben Gvir Hebron 224.88 (photo credit: Active Stills)
Ben Gvir Hebron 224.88
(photo credit: Active Stills)
Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-Right activist who has made headlines in recent years for his numerous protests and attempts to hold Jewish marches through densely populated Arab neighborhoods and towns, may be heading to the Knesset. On Thursday, it was reported that Dr. Michael Ben-Ari, who is number four on the National Union party list and is expected to join the Knesset following the publication of the final election results, has decided to appoint Ben-Gvir as his media and legal adviser. "I am very pleased that Itamar accepted my request," Ben-Ari told Army Radio on Thursday morning, confirming the news. "He loves Israel very much." "I have known him since I was 12, and nobody is as talented," he continued. "I truly thank him for agreeing to my request." The 45-year-old Ben-Ari is no stranger to the radical Right. He was formerly in the extremist Kach party, which was banned by the Knesset in 1988. Indeed, his entry into the Knesset would mark the first time a former Kach member has earned a seat. According to the current election results, the National Union party won four mandates in the next Knesset. Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu met with representatives of the National Union on Thursday, and some analysts predict that a coalition headed by Likud would include the party. In addition to appointing controversial figures as Knesset advisers, Ben Ari has not shied away from making his far Right-wing position clear. Speaking to Army Radio, he defended both his former status as a Kach party member, and his association with the assassinated leader of the party, Rabbi Meir Kahane. "I have not been embarrassed for one moment that I was a student of the rabbi," he told the station. "But I love that all the journalists choose to focus specifically on that." "The rabbi forged a long path, and I believe that the Israeli public in these elections gave a definitive answer as to which direction they are turning," Ben Ari continued. "The time has come to deal with this respectfully."