Binyamin Elon

Binyamin Elon was born in Jerusalem in 1954 into a prominent religious Zionist family. His father, Menachem Elon, served as Israel's Deputy Chief Justice, and his brother Mordechai (Motty) Elon became a prominent religious Zionist rabbi.[2]

Elon studied at Yeshivat Merkaz ha-Rav in Jerusalem and the Idra Kolel in the Golan Heights and was ordained as a rabbi in 1978.[4] Sources differ on the nature of his military service: Encyclopedia.com places him in the IDF artillery corps, while the Jewish Virtual Library describes him as a chaplain.[4][1] They also give 1979 and 1978, respectively, as the start of his tenure as rabbi of Kibbutz Sheluhot, but both place its end in 1982.[4][1]

From 1983 to 1985, Elon served as a Jewish Agency emissary to Jewish student organizations in the United States. After returning to Israel, he taught at the Makhon Meir and Atteret Kohanim yeshivot in Jerusalem.[4]

In 1982, Elon and his family settled in Bet-El, near Ramallah, and he was among the settlement's founders.[4][2] He and his wife, Emuna, founded the Sifriyat Bet-El publishing house and the Tov Ro'i Institute in 1987; the institute published the Talmudic commentaries of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook.[4] In 1990, Elon and Hanan Porat established the Beit Orot Yeshiva on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, on land purchased by American Jewish businessman Irving Moskowitz. Elon shared leadership of the yeshiva with Porat for six years, until entering political life.[2]

Elon entered the Knesset in 1996 as a member of Moledet, which was led by Rehavam Ze'evi and associated with proposals to transfer Palestinians.[4][5] He actively opposed the Oslo Accords and founded the Emunim Movement to oppose the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, which he regarded as a terrorist entity. Despite the views attributed to him, he became known for his mild personal manner.[4]

In 1999, Elon was reelected on the National Union list, which comprised Moledet, Tkuma, and Herut. He subsequently led Moledet and the joint National Union–National Religious Party list.[2]

Following Ze'evi's assassination in October 2001, Elon was appointed to succeed his party colleague as tourism minister.[6][4] He resigned from Ariel Sharon's government in March 2002 after Sharon agreed that Ze'evi's assassins would be held in a Jericho prison rather than turned over to Israel.[4] A February 2003 coalition agreement between the National Union and Likud assigned Elon the tourism portfolio again and expanded Sharon's prospective coalition to 68 Knesset members.[7] During his two ministerial tenures, Elon responded to the tourism decline associated with the Second Intifada by encouraging Christian tourism to the Holy Land and developing tourist sites in Judea and Samaria.[4]

The National Union opposed Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza and remove Jewish settlements. In June 2004, Sharon dismissed the party's ministers before a government vote on the plan. The dismissal drew criticism from the right, including claims that it was undemocratic.[4][2] Elon subsequently remained active on the Knesset Finance Committee.[4]

In 2006, while dealing with cancer, Elon was chosen to head the joint National Religious Party–National Union list for the 17th Knesset elections. The list won nine seats but did not join Ehud Olmert's government. Before the 2009 election, Elon was placed seventeenth on the Jewish Home list and left parliamentary life.[2] In total, he served in the Knesset from 1996 to 2009.[1][2]

In 2003, Elon presented a regional proposal for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He relaunched a revised version in 2007 under the name "Israeli Initiative."[2]

Its principal elements included dissolving the Palestinian Authority, extending Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, and treating Jordan as the national home of the Palestinian people, with the Hashemite monarchy granting citizenship to Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and Gaza.[2][5] The proposal called for compensating Palestinian refugees instead of granting a right of return. It also envisioned a long-term economic-development program in which Israel, the United States, and the international community would help Jordan absorb Palestinian refugees.[2][5]

A contemporaneous Ynet report noted that the published proposal used the term "population exchanges" instead of "transfer," while people around Elon said he had not abandoned the transfer idea.[5] Elon planned to present the proposal to opinion-shapers in Israel and the United States, but the Israeli government did not adopt it.[2][5]

Elon made outreach to evangelical Christians, particularly in the United States, a major part of his public work.[2] He chaired the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, established in January 2004 by MK Yuri Stern. By 2008, it comprised 13 Knesset members from seven parties and sought cooperation with Christian leaders, support for Israel, and the promotion of Judeo-Christian values. Elon called the Christian world Israel's "most strategic ally both existentially and spiritually."[3]

In the 17th Knesset, Elon chaired a broader lobby for relations with Christian communities worldwide. He also founded the Israel Allies Foundation, which brought together parliamentarians and leaders from different countries for political activity in support of Israel. After leaving the Knesset, he continued to serve as its president.[2]

From 1990 onward, Elon was active in associations involved in purchasing property and buildings in East Jerusalem and renewing Jewish settlement there. He was also involved in efforts to renew Jewish settlement in Bethlehem near Rachel's Tomb.[4] Israel Hayom reported that in October 1998 he led a campaign to return a synagogue and Jewish property in Shimon HaTzadik to their owners. After receiving authorization from the Sephardi Community Council, he arranged for the synagogue structure to be renovated and made usable.[8]

Elon was married to Emuna Elon, an educator and writer who served as the prime minister's adviser on women in 1996–97. In that role, she led the establishment of the National Authority for the Advancement of Women. She also wrote numerous children's books.[4] The couple had six children.[1]

In early 2006, Elon was diagnosed with cancer of the vocal cords. He underwent surgery at Beilinson Hospital followed by daily radiation treatments.[1][2] He said at the time, "I am completely calm ahead of this battle. I will beat the disease." He later reported that he had recovered and was functioning fully.[2] Elon died on May 5, 2017, aged 62.[2]

Elon's public career combined religious education, parliamentary leadership, diplomatic advocacy, and international outreach. His institutional work included the Beit Orot Yeshiva, the Sifriyat Bet-El publishing house, the Tov Ro'i Institute, and the Israel Allies Foundation.[4][2]

He served for 13 years in the Knesset and twice as tourism minister, while his Christian outreach helped establish parliamentary networks supporting Israel.[3][2] He also published commentaries on the teachings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and articles in the local press.[1]

Elon's proposals concerning Jordan, Palestinian citizenship, and population exchange generated substantial controversy. A 2003 Ynet report said his published plan replaced the term "transfer" with "population exchanges," while people around him maintained that he had not abandoned the transfer idea. The proposal envisioned Jordan granting citizenship to Arabs in Judea and Samaria and Gaza and absorbing Palestinian refugees.[5]

An Encyclopedia.com entry records that Elon opposed the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, which he viewed as a terrorist entity, and considered discussion of transferring Palestinians to a Jordanian-Palestinian state legitimate.[4] His 2004 dismissal before the disengagement vote prompted right-wing accusations that Sharon's action was undemocratic.[2] His East Jerusalem property activities also involved contested claims: Encyclopedia.com records his involvement in property purchases, while Israel Hayom reports his 1998 campaign concerning the Shimon HaTzadik synagogue and Jewish property.[4][8]