12 Facts About Eli Ben-Dahan

Eliyahu Michael "Eli" Ben-Dahan is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and politician.

Eli Ben-Dahan was previously a Knesset member for the Jewish Home and Likud from 2013 until 2019, and Deputy Minister of Religious Services between 2013 and 2015.

The eldest of five boys, Eli Ben-Dahan was born in Casablanca, Morocco, and immigrated to Israel in 1956 at the age of two, his family settling in Beersheba.

Eli Ben-Dahan studied at the Nativ Meir and Mercaz HaRav yeshivas, and is an ordained rabbi.

Eli Ben-Dahan later went on to gain a teaching certificate, a bachelor's degree in business administration from Touro College, and a master's degree in public policy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Eli Ben-Dahan was ordained by Rabbis Chalom Messas, Avraham Shapira, and Mordechai Eliyahu.

In 1978, Eli Ben-Dahan was amongst the founders of the Haspin settlement in the Golan Heights.

Eli Ben-Dahan became Director-General of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel's Rabbinical Court system in 1989, holding the post for 21 years.

Eli Ben-Dahan was re-elected in 2015, after being placed fourth on the party's list again.

Eli Ben-Dahan was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense in the new government.

Eli Ben-Dahan has stirred controversy with some of his statements, which were cited after his appointment to administer the IDF's civil administration in the West Bank, with jurisdiction over Palestinian residents there:.

In June 2015, Eli Ben-Dahan spoke out after a report in The Wall Street Journal claimed Israel used a computer virus to spy on nuclear negotiations with Iran.