From Labor primaries to Yisrael Beiteinu: "Since October 7, everyone has moved to the right, and so have I"

Lili Ben-Ami, founder of the Michal Sela Forum, who announced on Wednesday that she is joining Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party, told Ynet that she has always been a political and public activist. However, after the murder of her sister Michal (of blessed memory) by her husband seven years ago, she took a break from political life to focus on the struggle for women under threat.

"Even before my sister's murder, I was a political player," she says. "I ran in the Labor party primaries and worked at the municipal level. When my sister was murdered, I stopped everything and spent seven years dealing with a subject that was completely unfamiliar to me: violence against women and femicide."

Ben-Ami shared the grief that struck her family twice: "A year and a quarter ago, I lost my brother in a car accident, and our hearts broke for the second time. But after seven years of dealing with the issue of violence against women, I asked myself: 'Where is the Lili who existed before her sister's murder?'. In the last year, I turned to the Prime Minister and asked him to look at the data on femicide and cases of women murdered as a result of the distribution of weapons to civilians, but there was not even one discussion on the subject and not a single comment from anyone in the government. There is a limit to how much you can promote things from the outside. I felt that within the framework of the NGO, I had hit a glass ceiling, and therefore I decided to come and influence from another arena."

Ben-Ami says the connection with Yisrael Beiteinu is not accidental. Immediately after her sister's murder, MK Oded Forer championed the cause and passed legislative amendments related to guardianship, such as stripping a murderer husband of the right to remain the guardian of his children.

"Yisrael Beiteinu is a party that acts, not just talks," she says. "For me, it comes from the gut; it is an internal fire. I am coming to represent a 'transparent' population, such as women under threat. Who is voicing the voices of women under threat in the Knesset today? It is time for this voice to be heard."

Ben-Ami claims that there was no discussion with her about a place on the party's list for the Knesset: "I am not coming because of jobs, chairs, or conditions. I am coming only to influence."

Regarding the move from the Labor party to Yisrael Beiteinu, she says: "All my life I grew up in a right-wing home. My late brother lived in a settlement. After October 7, everyone moved to the right, and so did I. One must be like a fist against our enemies, and therefore I support the death penalty for murderers. I found a political home whose approach is firm and uncompromising. Lieberman is a strong and experienced leader who has delivered results in all his positions. His word is his word. This is what the people of Israel are looking for today."