BENELISAR, ELIAHU

(formerly Gottlieb)

(1932-2000).

   Born in Radom, Poland, he immigrated to Palestine in 1942. His original family name was Gottlieb, but when he changed it to Hebrew, he did so by combining the first half of his father's two names (Eliezer Yisrael) to create Ben-Elisar. He was educated at the University of Paris in political science and international law, and during his time in Paris, he was enlisted by the Mossad, where he worked until 1965. In 1965, he left the Mossad to pursue his doctorate at the University of Geneva, where he wrote a thesis on the Jewish factor in the foreign policy of the Third Reich. It was published as a book in 1969. He returned to Israel and worked as a correspondent for several European newspapers. He also became involved in Herut Party political activities and in 1971 began to serve as head of the party's information department. He served as director general of Prime Minister Menachem Begin's office and as Israel's first ambassador to Egypt. A member of the Knesset on the Likud list, he served as chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee of the 10th Knesset. In 1996-97, he served as ambassador to Washington. In April 1998, he was named ambassador to France. He died in Paris.