Former Rosh Yeshiva, Cabinet Minister and MK Rabbi Binyamin (Benny Alon) Z”L was niftar last week after a long battle with a difficult illness. He was 64 at the time of his petira and the levaya was in Har Menuchos.

Elon was a ninth generation Yerushalmi, married, and the father of six. He served in Knesset in the Moledet party and National Union from 1996 and 2009. A resident of Beit El in the Shomron, he launched Yeshivat Beit Orot as part of his mesirus nefesh to liberate areas of the eastern capital and Har HaZeisim from Arab occupation.

Commenting on his petira, President Reuven Rivlin said, “Rabbi Benny Elon was a big-hearted man, who dedicated himself entirely for the sake education, and the public. As a minister, as a member of parliament, and as a man of action, vision, and of spirit, Rabbi Benny Elon was one of the great fighters and doers for the sake of the Land of Israel, for its residents, and its children.

“As a friend and companion, he was for me a learning partner, an intellectual sparring partner, whose commitment to Israeli society and the State of Israel was unwavering and deeply rooted.

“In recent years, Rabbi Benny Elon worked to strengthen Israel’s global standing, founding many influential organizations, working against the isolation of Israel even in the most difficult times, and against the most hostile opinions. May his memory be a blessing.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)