Ilan Gilon

Ilan Gilon (, ‎; 12 May 1956 – 1 May 2022) was an Israeli politician of the Meretz party.

Early life

Gilon was born in Galați, Romania.  He got polio when he was a baby. Because of this he has problems with his legs. He migrated to Israel when he was a child. He studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem but didn't obtain a degree. He became involved in politics by becoming a member of the youth department of Mapam (a socialist political party and a forerunner of Meretz), followed by Meretz itself later on.

Political career

Gilon was deputy mayor of Ashdod from 1993 to 1999. He served three spells in the Knesset between 1999 and 2021. As a parliamentarian, he was mainly involved with social welfare issues. Among these are promoting laws to help people with disabilities. After the resignation of Zehava Gal-On in October 2017, Gilon has become leader of the Meretz party in the Knesset. In 2018, Gilon ran for Meretz party president however he withdrew from the race because of bad health.

Death

Gilon had two strokes in 2018 and 2019. He died on 1 May 2022 in Ramat Gan, Israel at the age of 65.

References

Other websites

 Bio at Knesset Website

Category:1956 births
Category:2022 deaths
Category:Romanian Jews
Category:Deaths from stroke
Category:Meretz politicians
Category:Members of the Knesset
Category:Israeli political leaders
Category:Jewish Israeli politicians
Category:Naturalized citizens of Israel