Eli Avidar

Eli Avidar was born in 1964 in Alexandria

Eli Avidar was born Eli Aboudara in Alexandria, Egypt, to Isaac and Fortuna Aboudara. His family's roots were in Greece. The family moved to Israel in 1967, right after the Six-Day War, and he grew up in Bat Yam, where his father later served as deputy mayor.

He enlisted in the IDF in 1982 and was discharged in 1989. He then earned a B.A. in Middle East and General Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 2009 he completed an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies at Tel Aviv University.

He joined the Foreign Ministry cadet course in 1992 and became vice consul in Philadelphia. He later advised Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon, headed Israel's delegation in Qatar from 1999, and served as consul general in Hong Kong and Macau from 2001 to 2005. During the Second Lebanon War he spoke for Israel to Arabic media, and then left the ministry.

He became managing director of the Israel Diamond Institute and later led the Israel Diamond Exchange. In 2012 he was elected president of the Israel-Africa Chamber of Commerce.

He entered the Knesset for Yisrael Beiteinu in 2019. He served as a minister without portfolio until his resignation in February 2022, and that year founded the Israel Free party.