Naveh says good-bye to Likud, hello to venture capital

Former MK Yuli Edelstein will be sworn in to the Knesset on Tuesday to replace Naveh.

By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMAN
naveh 88 (photo credit: )
naveh 88
(photo credit: )
Likud MK Dan Naveh, whose resignation from the Knesset takes effect on Tuesday, bade farewell to the Likud faction in an emotional meeting at the Knesset on Monday. Naveh hand-submitted his resignation to Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik on Sunday after accepting an offer to head a venture capital fund. Former MK Yuli Edelstein will be sworn in to the Knesset on Tuesday to replace Naveh. "The decision to leave the Knesset was very difficult for me," Naveh said. "In my decade of service since becoming cabinet secretary in 1996, nothing has changed in my views or in the country. I am still a Herutnik and we are still fighting for our right to live here in our land." Naveh said he was sure that the Likud would soon return to power. He said he would remain active in the party and continue to head its ideological bureau. Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu recalled meeting Naveh's father when he owned a shoemaking store in Jerusalem decades ago. He said he asked Naveh three times not to quit the Knesset, and that he hoped he would come back some day. "It is important that people be able to go back and forth between business and politics because it helps the country," Netanyahu said. Likud faction chairman Gideon Saar said although Naveh was leaving the Knesset, he would always be a part of the Likud ideologically, as he had been since his days in the Likud youth group. Itzik also praised Naveh in a speech from the Knesset podium. "Danny went through all the stages of political ups and downs," Itzik said. "Even though his advancement seemed very fast, he barely skipped a single step. In the end, there are no shortcuts. Experience in a variety of positions make people wiser and more prepared." Sheera Claire Frenkel contributed to this report.