Arieh Eldad
Arieh Eldad is a member of the Israeli Knesset for the right-wing Ichud Leumi group.
Contents
Background
Eldad was born in Tel Aviv in 1950. His father, Israel Eldad was a leading figure in the underground group Lehi.[1]Eldad studied medicine at Tel Aviv University. From 1976-79 he served in the Israeli Defence Forces Medical Corps.[2] Eldad was chief medical officer of the IDF from 1997-2000, with the rank of Brigadier General. After leaving active military service, he served as director of the plastic surgery unit at Hadassah Ein-Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem from 2000-2003.[3]Eldad was elected to the Knesset as an Ichud Leumi member in February 2003, and re-elected in 2006.[4]On both occasions he ran as a part of the Moledet party within the Ichud Leumi group. In November 2007 , he announced plans to lead an independent secular right-wing party, Hatikva, into the next election.
- "In the last election, non-religious voters went to the Likud, Israel Beiteinu or stayed home because they had no one to vote for," Eldad said. "The Likud has proven that it can take right-wing votes and implement the policies of Peace Now. Israel Beiteinu used to sound like a right-wing party, but now they favor dividing Jerusalem. I needed a party that would really be right-wing."[5].
Eldad is married with five children and is a resident of the West Bank settlement of Kfar Adumim.[6]
Political views
Eldad is a Revisionist Zionist who believes in the ideas of Zeev Jabotinsky:
- Eldad supports the right of Jews to live in any part of the Land of Israel and opposes any surrender of Israeli sovereignty to the PLO. Eldad supports Moledet's plan to transfer the Palestinian Arabs to the Arab states. Eldad opposes the creation of any Palestinian Arab state west of the Jordan River and called its possibility a "disaster".
- Prior to the scheduled Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank in August 2005, Eldad was the only member of parliament to call for non-violent civil disobedience as a tactic in the struggle against the government.[7]
Links to counterjihad movement
In October 2007, Eldad spoke at the CounterJihad Brussels conference organised by the Center for Vigilant Freedom. The title of his speech was: 'What can we learn from Israel’s on-going fight with terrorism?'[8]
In March 2008, Eldad screened a scene from a film by Geert Wilders and announced plans for an anti-jihad conference in Jerusalem in December to which law-makers from Denmark, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain would be invited. Israeli-Arab lawmakers accused him of linking up with the European extreme right.[9]
The resulting Facing Jihad conference was a one day event held at the Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem on 14 December 2008, hosted by Eldad and the Ariel Center for Policy Research.[10] The event was promoted by PR company Ruder Finn,[11] who had also promoted Geert Wilders' film Fitna.
Affiliations
Connections
- Karni Eldad - daughter
External Resources
- Gil Hoffman, Right worried Israel will pay price for bin Laden killing, Jerusalem Post, 5 February 2011.
- Gili Cohen, MK: Shoot everyone trying to cross Israel border, haaretz.com, 3 June 2012.
References
- ↑ Arieh Eldad, National Union, ynetnews.com, 26 January 2005.
- ↑ Arieh Eldad, National Union, ynetnews.com, 26 January 2005.
- ↑ Arieh Eldad, National Union, ynetnews.com, 26 January 2005.
- ↑ Knesset Member, Arieh Eldad, The Knesset, accessed 17 December 2008.
- ↑ Arye Eldad to head new secular Right party, by Gil Hoffman, Jerusalem Post, 20 November 2007.
- ↑ Arieh Eldad, National Union, ynetnews.com, 26 January 2005.
- ↑ Member of Knesset Arieh Eldad website, accessed 17 December 2008.
- ↑ CounterJihad Brussels 2007, CounterJihad Europa, accessed 17 December 2008.
- ↑ MK Arieh Eldad forms anti-Islam coalition, Israel e-news, 9 March 2008.
- ↑ About Facing Jihad, facingjihad.com, accessed via the Web Archive 17 February 2015.
- ↑ 200b Clients and Partners, Ruder Finn Israel, accessed 24 May 2009.
