A crowd of approximately 1,000 mourners were in attendance on Friday as former minister Rabbi Benny Elon, a prominent leader in religious Zionist circles, was laid to rest in Jerusalem. Elon, 62, succumbed last week to a protracted battle with cancer. Elon was born in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Rehavia. In 1996, he was elected to the Knesset on the right-wing Moledet party's list. Elon was one of the politicians who initiated the merger between a number of small right-wing parties to form the National Union party. In 1999, he was re-elected to the Knesset as a National Union MK. Elon served as an MK from 1996 to 2009 and as tourism minister in 2001-2002 and again in 2003-2004. In June 2004, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon fired Elon and then-Transportation Minister Avigdor Lieberman over their opposition to Israel's plan to disengage from the Gaza Strip and raze the settlements there. Elon, son of former Deputy Supreme Court President Professor Menachem Elon, is survived by his wife and six children. Widow Emuna Elon, a writer, eulogized her husband, saying, "It was hard for us to see you suffer. But you accepted the agony calmly, submissively. You were hurt by the illness' effect on your holy work, its effect on your vital activity on behalf of the people of Israel." The eulogy then took on a more personal note: "Thank you, my beloved Benny, for almost 43 years of marriage and friendship. Thank you for the generosity of your heart, for your happiness in simple things, for your boundless concern for me, for our sweet children and grandchildren." Elon's son Uri also gave a eulogy for his father. "For most of [our] years, you taught me how to be strong, and these past few years you also taught me how to be weak, and always pray, and always be thankful for what is good." President Reuven Rivlin called Elon "one of the greatest fighters and workers for the land of Israel, those who live in it, and those who build it." Elon was diagnosed with cancer of the vocal chords in 2006, despite never having been a smoker. He underwent a successful operation to remove the tumor, and later returned to public life. At the end of 2008, he resigned from politics. In 2014, he was again diagnosed with cancer.
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שיתוף כתבה
1,000 mourners attend funeral of former minister Benny Elon
Former Tourism Minister Benny Elon served as an MK for over a decade • President Reuven Rivlin: Elon was one of the greatest workers for the land of Israel • Widow Emuna Elon: The illness hurt your vital activity on behalf of the people of Israel.