Mordechai Eliyahu
Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu מרדכי צמח אליהו | |
|---|---|
| Title | Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, 1983–1993 |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Mordechai Eliyahu March 3, 1929 |
| Died | June 7, 2010 (aged 81) Jerusalem |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Spouse | Tzviya Eliyahu |
| Children |
|
| Parent | Salman Eliyahu |
| Alma mater | Porat Yosef Yeshiva |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Denomination | Hardal |
| Jewish leader | |
| Predecessor | Ovadia Yosef |
| Successor | Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron |
Mordechai Tzemach Eliyahu (Hebrew: מרדכי צמח אליהו; March 3, 1929 – June 7, 2010) was an Israeli rabbi, posek, and spiritual leader.
The son of a Jerusalem Kabbalist, in his youth, Eliyahu was active in the radical religious Jewish underground terrorist organization Brit HaKanaim. He served as a dayan in Beersheba, and in the Supreme Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem. He later served as the Rishon LeZion, or Chief Rabbi of Israel, from 1983 to 1993.
As a leader of Religious Zionism, Eliyahu was instrumental in moving many of its members over to the religious right, sparking the beginnings of the Hardal movement. A supporter of Meir Kahane and Jonathan Pollard, Eliyahu expressed his opposition to the Israeli disengagement from Gaza.
Eliyahu died at age 81, after complications from a heart condition. He was buried on Har HaMenuchot in Jerusalem.