ELON, BENYAMIN

(Benny)

(1954- )

Prominent settler,religious educator, and right-wing member of theKnesset. Born inJerusalem, he and his family have resided in theWest Bankreligioussettlementof Beit El for more than two decades, where he heads the local rabbinical seminary (yeshiva). He was first elected to the Knesset in 1996 as a member ofMoledet, a party that advocated the "transfer" ofPalestiniansfrom the West Bank andGaza Strip.In 1999, Moledet allied with other small parties to form theNational Union(NU) Party, under the leadership ofRehavam Ze'evi. After Ze'evi's assassination in the fall of 2001, Elon was selected to replace him as Moledet leader and minister oftourism. He subsequently served two terms as tourism minister, 2001-2 and 2003—4. A strong advocate of Israel's permanent retention ofJudea,Samaria, and Gaza and of continued Jewish settlement of those areas, Elon actively worked to thwartArielSharon's Gaza disengagement plan (seeUNILATERAL DISENGAGEMENTHITNATKUT,TOKHNIT HAHITNATKUT). He proposed an alternate plan, dubbed the "Elon Plan" by elements of the media. Elon led the NU-National Religious Partyjoint list to a total of nine mandates in the 28 March 2006Knesset election.

See alsoPolitical parties.