 Ben-Elissar married Diana (née Dudel), and his second wife was Nitza (née Efroni).After receiving his doctorate, Ben Elissar became a journalist and then a spokesman for the Herut party.He was appointed Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office of Menachem Begin in 1977, a position he held until 1980 when he was appointed as Israel's first ambassador to Egypt following the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.