Eliahu Ben-Elissar

Eliahu Ben-Elissar was born Eli Gottlieb in Poland and escaped Nazi persecution as a child. He studied in Paris and Geneva and later became a spokesman for Herut. When Menachem Begin took office in 1977, Ben-Elissar became director general of the prime minister's office and a trusted intermediary in the opening to Egypt. ^{1, 2}

Begin selected him to lead Israel's delegation to the Cairo talks after Anwar Sadat's visit to Jerusalem. He worked with legal adviser Meir Rosenne, whom he had known during their studies and embassy work in Paris. After the peace treaty he became Israel's first ambassador in Cairo. He then spent fifteen years in the Knesset, including periods chairing the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. ^{2, 1}

Ben-Elissar left Parliament for the Washington embassy in 1996 and moved to Paris in 1998. He also wrote books in Hebrew and French. He died in Paris in August 2000. ¹