Ofer Shelach, senior political analyst for the Maariv newspaper, announced on Monday he was quitting the paper and joining Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party. Shelach, who attended a party meeting in Holon on Monday night, had mentioned his desire to enter politics for some time. Shelach is the author of several books, has worked as a sports commentator for televised basketball games, and has hosted the "Makor" television program for Channel 10. Lapid, himself a former journalist and television talk show host, is scheduled to make a public speech Tuesday evening stating his party's platform, and Shelach is said to have contributed to the content of the speech. Although Shelah has not officially been declared a member of the party, attending the meeting in Holon with others who have recently joined including former Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Yaakov Peri, "University for All founder Dr. Adi Kol, and attorney Karin Elhadar, head of the legal clinics at Bar Ilan University all but dispelled speculation over his intentions. At the meeting, Shelah responded to questions about his plans by saying, "I did not come here to convince people how nice I am. I came to convince people that I have answers for them. I am coming with a tremendous curiosity for this." Addressing his supporters over the Likud's approval of the right-wing merger, Lapid said, "I think the merger is not good for Israel. It reflects a process of extremism." There are numerous former journalists peppered across the political spectrum in the Knesset, including Uri Orbach (the Jewish Home), Shelly Yachimovich and Daniel Ben-Simon (Labor), Silvan Shalom (Likud) and Nitzan Hen (Meretz).
