Ophir was born in 1988 in Kiryat Motzkin to Gila and Avi Elbaum. At the age of two, he moved with his family to the community village Koranit of the Misgav Regional Council in the Western Galilee, where his sister Eilat and his brother Amir were born. As a self-taught child, Ophir had many hobbies, including computers, chess, bridge, computer and board strategy games, Dungeons & Dragons, and ball games (soccer, table tennis, and basketball).

Ophir continued to enjoy most of his hobbies as an adult. Ophir loved studying at the Center for Gifted Children in Karmiel, once a week, from fourth to tenth grade. Ophir joined the HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed (Working and Studying Youth) in fourth grade as a member in the Koranit branch, a branch shared by the youth of Koranit and its neighbors. He continued in the movement until he became a counselor, a role he dedicatedly fulfilled for three years, from eleventh to twelfth grade. Among other things, Ophir led mixed groups of Jews and Arabs in the Galilee branch. Ophir was a participant in the Shemesh (Sun) camp, a mixed camp for Jews and Arabs, and later became a counselor there.

Ophir was multidisciplinary and loved to learn more and more. In his high school studies, he majored in many subjects, including chemistry, physics, theater, literature, history, mathematics, and English. During this time, he and his friend Danny established a school newspaper to give a voice to the students. Ophir had a deep love for the Hebrew language and wrote many works, including poems, plays, and short stories.

In 2006, he enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). As part of his military service, he pursued a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Economics and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Haifa. He became an officer during his studies and served in several positions as an officer in the Budget Division. During his military service, Ophir completed his Master of Arts (MA) degree in Emergency Management in the Department of Geography at the University of Haifa.

Towards the end of his military service, Ophir moved to Haifa with Atalya Levi, whom he had met during officers’ training course. In October 2013, the couple got married and together chose their new family name – Elon. Ophir was discharged from his permanent military service with the rank of Captain in April 2014, and since then, he dedicated all his time, energy, abilities, and numerous skills to doing good.

Ophir’s quest for social justice, solidarity, and equal rights for all living beings was evident even in his adolescence when he volunteered as a counselor in the HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed youth movement in Misgav.

Ophir established, led, and volunteered in numerous social and environmental organizations, including Anonymous Association for animal rights, HaPoel Katamon Jerusalem F.C., Meretz Party, The Social TV, Yarok Balev NGO, Megama Yeruka (Green Trend), Bustan Nof Meshutaf (Shared Landscape Orchard), Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Oranim Radio Channel, Filter Radio Program, Board Games Group in Haifa and the Krayot, Social Cooperative HaAssam, Ophir’s social grocery store and many more.

During the summer of 2014, Ophir participated in the Rainbow of Hope program at Bustan Nof Meshutaf near Mitzpe Aviv, along with a group of young people from all over the world, including Jews and Arabs from Israel. During the program, the participants lived together in the orchard under the open sky, learned about the different cultures they came from, the conflicts in their countries and raised ways to resolve them. They also built a playground structure in the shape of a rainbow, which serves the residents of the Galilee and visitors to the orchard.

After the program, Ophir continued to volunteer at the orchard in activities that fostered connection between the diverse populations in the Galilee. He later administrated all the activities at the orchard, including fundraising, recruiting international volunteers and supporting them during their time there.

Ophir voluntarily led and coordinated the מגמה Megama Yeruka cell in Haifa and worked to improve air quality in Haifa and its surroundings. His efforts included participating in public hearings about the ongoing plans to expand the polluting petrochemical industries, giving lectures to raise awareness among area residents and organizing demonstrations.

Ophir co-founded Yarok Balev NGO in 2014, together with six other friends. Since then, he served on the NGO’s board of directors and as its treasurer, promoting its public activities and management for the continued preservation of urban nature in Haifa. Ophir led challenging long hikes in the wadis (valleys) of Haifa, coordinated volunteers for the restoration of hiking trails, represented the NGO in the committees of Haifa municipality, recruited dozens of volunteers and raised crucial donations for its activities, and established this very website of Yarok Balev NGO.

In 2016, Ophir began working as the youth and young adult coordinator for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel in Haifa. There he was responsible for the youth scouting groups, the service-year volunteers and the young-adult division. Additionally, as part of his work, Ophir taught sustainability to the eleventh grade at the Rogozin school in Kiryat Ata, and together they planned the establishment of a second-hand store.

Ophir also worked as a teacher for children in Kiryat Motzkin as part of the extracurricular enrichment programs of the Western Galilee College, where he taught them economic thinking.

Ophir was a person of values in education who created connections and partnerships between people and activists in these various organizations, all with modesty and pleasantness, while respecting others.

On Monday, June 27, 2016, Ophir was killed in a car accident while driving from his home in Haifa to the Bustan Nof Meshutaf in Mitzpe Aviv. He was 28 years and three days old at the time of his death.

May he rest in peace and his memory be a blessing