Rabbi Binyamin "Benny" Elon (; 10 November 1954 – 5 May 2017) was an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and politician who served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

for Moledet and the National Union between 1996 and 2009. A ninth-generation

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

ite, Elon lived in Beit El, an

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

, for over twenty years, and was married to author and journalist Emuna Elon. They had six children. His father, Menachem Elon, was the former Deputy Chief Justice of Israel. His brother, disgraced Rabbi Mordechai Elon, has been a prominent controversial figure in the Religious Zionist Movement.

Biography

Born in Jerusalem, Elon studied at Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva, and Kollel HaIdra in the Golan Heights, before being ordained as a rabbi in 1978. Together with

Hanan Porat Hanan Porat (; 5 December 1943 – 4 October 2011) was an Israeli Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi, educator and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Tehiya, the National Religious Party, Tkuma (political party), Tkuma and the Nat ...

, he founded the Beit Orot Talmudic College, and Elon became its first dean. He was first elected to the Knesset in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

as a member of the right-wing Moledet Party, advocating "voluntary" transfer of the

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

population from the

and the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

, an ideology shared by Elon. In 1998, he led a group of religious students in taking over a compound in Sheikh Jarrah, which spurred the government to start subsidizing illegal settlements there. In 1999, he again tried to take over a compound in Sheikh Jarrah. His efforts were unsuccessful and a court ruled in favor of the Abu Jibna family who owned it. In 1999, the party allied with other right-wing parties to form the National Union party. Following the assassination of Moledet leader Rehavam Ze'evi in 2001, Elon was elected to replace him as party chairman and as Tourism Minister. He consequently served two terms as Minister of Tourism, between 2001 and 2002, and again between 2003 and 2004, both in

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...

's government. During his second spell in the cabinet, Elon attempted to foil Ariel Sharon's plan to dismiss him from the cabinet for intending to vote against the disengagement plan by going into hiding, claiming if he did not receive his dismissal in person within 48 hours of the cabinet meeting, then he would still be able to vote. Ultimately, his dismissal was deemed legal, and he was not allowed to vote in the meeting. He was re-elected in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, but did not run in the 2009 elections due to health issues.

Ideology

Elon was a keen supporter of the continuation of the

enterprise in the

and wanted to rebuild the Gaza settlements. He did not recognize a Palestinian right for

self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...

in any part of

Eretz Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definitions ...

("Land of Israel"), the area which he stated God gave to the

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

according to the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Road map for peace The roadmap for peace or road map for peace ( ''Mapa had'rakhim'', ''Khāriṭa ṭarīq as-salāmu'') was a plan to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict proposed by the Quartet on the Middle East. The principles of the plan, originally ...

). Instead, he suggested an alternative proposal called ''The Right Road to Peace'', also known as the Elon Peace Plan. The plan would have Israel annex Gaza and the West Bank Jordan a "voluntary" transfer of the

population to neighboring countries would occur, primarily with Jordan as the destination. Those who refused would become stateless.

Additional work

He was the author of ''God's Covenant with Israel: Establishing Biblical Boundaries in Today's World'' (2005). As Minister of Tourism, Benny Elon reached out to the Christian world when Jewish–Christian relations were still very strained. He served as the Chairman of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus in the Israeli Parliament, growing its influence and connections. Benny traveled extensively, meeting with Members of Parliament, Pastors, faith leaders, and House Representatives and Senators. In 2006, the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus was established in the U.S. House of Representatives which has been chaired by Vice President

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

, former Rep. Dave Weldon, Rep. Eliot Engel, Rep. Trent Franks, and others. The work of the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus and the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus led to the establishment of 34 additional caucuses in nations worldwide, and in 2007, Rabbi Elon founded the Israel Allies Foundation to resource, educate, and encourage the pro-Israel initiatives of this international parliamentary network. Elon maintained close contacts with Christians worldwide, including radio personality Janet Parshall, former House Majority Leader

Tom DeLay Thomas Dale DeLay (; born April 8, 1947) is an American author and retired politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, DeLay represented Texas's 22nd congress ...

, the

Christian Coalition of America The Christian Coalition of America (CCA), a 501(c)(4) organization, is the successor to the original Christian Coalition created in 1987 by religious broadcaster and former presidential candidate Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson. This US Christia ...

, Pat Robertson, Hungarian Pastor Sandor Nemeth, and others.

Death

In February 2006 Elon was diagnosed with

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

. He was treated, but it was never cured, and he retired in 2008 due to related health problems. After eleven years, he died from the condition on May 5, 2017.

References

External links