 In 1934 the family came to Israel and settled in the Makabi-Tzrifim neighbourhood in Jaffa.Following David Ben-Gurion instruction that officers should change their family name to a Hebrew one, Elpeleg changed his name from Elphlang to Elpeleg.In the mid-1950s Elpeleg was the military governor of the Triangle and from 1956 to 1957 the military governor of Gaza.