Binyamin Elon

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Rabbi Binyamin "Benny" Elon (1954-) is an Israeli politician, a Member of the Knesset and chairman of the Israeli nationalist right-wing party the National Union. Elon is a ninth-generation Jerusalemite and has been residing for the last 20 years in Beit El, a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. His father was the former Deputy Chief Justice of Israel and his brother, Rabbi Mordechai Elon, is a prominent figure in the Religious Zionist Movement.

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[edit] History

Before becoming a Member of the Knesset he founded, along with Chanan Porat, the Talmudic College Beit Orot and became the first dean[1][2].

In February 2006 Elon was diagnosed with throat cancer[3].

[edit] Knesset

Elon was first elected to the Knesset in 1996 as member of the right-wing Moledet party, which advocates voluntary transfer of Palestinian population from the Israeli-occupied territories, an ideology which has been widely denounced in Israel as racist. In 1999, the party allied with other right-wing parties to form the National Union party. Following the assassination of Moledet leader Rehavam Zeevi in 2001, Elon was elected to replace him as party chairman and as Tourism Minister. He consequently served two terms as Tourism Minister of Israel, between 2001-2002 and again between 2003-2004, both in Ariel Sharon's government.

[edit] Ideology

Elon is a keen supporter of the continuation of the Israeli settlement enterprise in the West Bank and return to Gush Katif, and does not recognize a Palestinian right for self determination in any part of the Land of Israel. As such, he rejects the efforts for establishing peace in the Middle East as viewed by the mainstream (see Road map for peace). Instead, he suggests an alternative proposal called The Right Road to Peace, centered on motivating the emigration of Israeli Arabs, also known as the Elon Peace Plan[4].

During the 16th Knesset, Elon gained notoriety for his attempt to foil Ariel Sharon's plan to dismiss him from the cabinet[5] for intending to vote against the Disengagement Plan[6]. Elon went into hiding, claiming that 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.

Elon has been an advocate for "transfer" [7] as a solution for the demographic issues posed by the Arab population.

[edit] Additional Work

He is the author of God's Covenant with Israel: Establishing Biblical Boundaries in Today's World (2005).

[edit] References

  1. ^ YnetNews Profile
  2. ^ Boston Globe, At the front of Israel's culture war Rabbi-politician says vote is about Jewish character, By: Anne Barnard, March 22, 2006
  3. ^ Ha’Aretz. Q&A with National Union MK Binyamin Elon, March 2, 2006
  4. ^ Elon Peace Plan Webiste
  5. ^ New York Times, Sharon Fires 2 Cabinet Ministers On Eve of Vote on Gaza Plan, By GREG MYRE, June 5, 2004
  6. ^ Jerusalem Post, Caroline B. Glick, July 15, 2003
  7. ^ Christian Science Monitor Israeli expulsion idea gains steam, The Moledet party's media blitz for the mass expulsion of Palestinians is gaining momentum, By Ben Lynfield, February 06, 2002
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