Binyamin Elon

"Binyamin Elon has served twice as Israel’s Minister of Tourism, the Chairman of the Ichud Leumi (National Union) and the Chairman of the Moledet Party, as well as the Chairman of the Knesset Science and Technology Committee, Chairman of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, and the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. "

His father is Menachem Elon; his wife is Emuna Elon. Elon also postures as a rabbi.

Criticism
According to Claire Tristram:


 * "Elon's party and his opinions are more extreme than the Likud, the party of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Elon also believes that Muslims should not be able to vote in Israel, not even those who are currently citizens. And he has predicted that Islam will be wiped out in a few years by a Christian crusade. While these ideas are considered extreme in Israel, many in Sharon's coalition government share Elon's hard-line policy against dismantling any of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza; Sharon himself has publicly advocated the "Jordan is Palestine" viewpoint, most recently in Haaretz, an Israel paper, in April 2001. And while Sharon criticized Elon's lobbying trip to Washington, it's clear from the objections he raised with Secretary of State Colin Powell that the Israeli prime minister, too, has significant problems with the road map.


 * "Regardless of whether his trip was sanctioned by Sharon, Elon found sympathetic listeners in the United States, both on Capitol Hill, where he met tirelessly with U.S. senators and representatives of both parties, including Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and in the evangelical Christian community, where he has gained the support of lobbying groups such as the Christian Coalition and Gary Bauer's American Values. While the official purpose of Elon's visit last week was to promote Israeli tourism, he also found time to discuss his comparatively radical solution to the Palestinian question."

Murky Past
Angela Godfrey documents that Ben Elon was part of a group of armed settlers that invaded a house and dispossessed the Palestinian family.

Affiliations

 * 5W Public Relations is the New York-based hardline pro-Israel public relations company handling B. Elon's representation.
 * Israel Initiative - supporter

External resources

 * PIWP database references to Elon