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Michael Eitan, longtime Likud MK turned Netanyahu critic, dies at 80.
Politically active since he was in university, Eitan served in the Knesset for 28 years, but said in 2019 he could no longer vote for Likud, saying PM betrayed party’s principles.
Michael Eitan, a longtime Likud MK who was a critic of the party’s rightward shift and its leadership under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, died on Friday. He was 80.
Born in 1944 to parents who immigrated to Palestine from Poland, Eitan served as an infantry officer in the Israel Defense Forces.
After his service, Eitan studied law at Tel Aviv University, where he was politically active among the students’ wing of the Herut party, which later merged with Likud. He went on to serve as an adviser to the mayor of Tel Aviv, on welfare matters.
As a leader among young people in the center-right camp, Eitan was a driving force behind the establishment of Kochav Yair, a town in central Israel founded in 1981.
The town’s leadership eulogized Eitan in a statement Friday, saying he “left his mark on the planning of the community and even headed the team to carry it out, from the day the development started until the settlement of the first 500 families in 1980.”
In 1984, Eitan was first elected to the Knesset, where he held office continuously until 2013. There, he pushed for technological advancement, spearheading the Knesset’s online presence.
He was also an outspoken voice for government transparency, becoming the first MK to disclose his pay-slip to the public, and promoting Israel’s Freedom of Information Law.
That work was lauded on Friday after his death, in statements by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, which called Eitan an “uncompromising fighter against government corruption.”
“More than anyone else in the political system, Miki Eitan deeply understood the connection between transparency and democracy,” said the Movement for Freedom of Information, using Eitan’s nickname.
The longtime MK also advocated that Israel adopt a written constitution, which it has never done.
During his time in the Knesset, Eitan served on the Finance, Economic Affairs, Education and Culture, and Foreign Affairs and Defense committees, among others. He also chaired the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.
In 1992, Eitan set the record for the longest speech in the history of the Knesset, arguing against the 1993 state budget for ten hours and seven minutes, a duration no one has yet surpassed.
He also served as Science Minister from 1997-1998, and as Minister of Improvement of Government Services from 2009-2013.
In the latter role, Eitan was the only minister who opposed the appointment of Yoav Gallant as IDF chief of staff, citing a scandal over his use of public land.
Eitan was also the only Likud minister to publicly oppose the 2012 partnership between Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, and Yisrael Beytenu, when the two parties ran as a joint list in the 2013 elections, in which Eitan did not stand.
He also opposed Netanyahu’s settlement policies in the West Bank, arguing that Israel should limit new construction to maintain the possibility of a future Palestinian state.
In 2019, Eitan announced that for the first time, he would not vote for Likud, accusing the party of abandoning its nationalist-liberal principles.
“Positions that were thought to be natural, about character and personal modesty, have become ‘outdated.’ The rule of law is faced with repeated attacks, meant to prevent investigation into suspicions against the prime minister,” he said at the time.
Two years later, in 2021, Eitan panned the prime minister in a Facebook post, writing that “Likud under Netanyahu no longer represents the national-liberal values on which I was raised, and for which I have worked throughout all my public life.”
Eitan was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2017. The illness significantly weakened him over the following years, to the point that he could no longer dress himself and had trouble speaking.
In 2021, he underwent a Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery. Through the procedure, which is not widespread, due to risks involved in implanting electrodes in the brain, Eitan had an almost instant turnaround, regaining his fluid speech and motor skills. He shared his story, and was a public advocate of the procedure until his death.
He is survived by his partner, Karin Nahun, and his three daughters.
Times of Israel