His father, Aharon Chelouche, one of the prominent figures of the local Maghrebi Jewish community, was a goldsmith, money changer and land dealer.

During the same time he also occupied himself – single-handedly or cooperating with others – in the business of land purchase in the environs of Tel Aviv and also in other parts of the country.

Thanks to the friendly relationship he made with the leaders of the Arab populace he could find an attentive ear among them during times of peace as well as incidents and tension.

During those years he wrote and published essays in Hebrew and Arabic newspapers, trying to express a different, non-partisan, voice regarding the questions of life in Palestine.

Yosef Eliyahu and Freha Simha Chelouche had seven children – Moshe, Meyir, Avner, Tzadok [he], Hilel, Yehudit and Yoram.