Benny Begin

Benny Begin was born in 1943 in Jerusalem

Benny Begin was born in Jerusalem in 1943 to Aliza and Menachem Begin. His father soon went underground as commander of the Irgun, and the family moved often to hide his identity.

He finished high school at Ironi He in Tel Aviv and served in the Armored Corps. He studied geology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and earned a PhD from Colorado State University in 1978. He worked for most of his career at the Geological Survey of Israel.

He entered the Knesset for Likud in 1988 and ran for the party leadership in 1993. He opposed the Oslo Accords. As Minister of Science, he resigned in 1997 after the government approved the Hebron Protocol, and in 1998 he left Likud to found Herut, The National Movement.

After leaving politics in 1999 he returned to geology and in 2005 became head of the Geological Survey of Israel. He rejoined Likud in 2008 and served as minister without portfolio. He later opposed the Settlement Regulation Law and abstained on the Nation-State Bill.

In 2021 he joined New Hope and returned to the Knesset, then announced his retirement before the 25th Knesset elections. He is married to Ruth and they have 6 children.