Gillon was born in
Jerusalem. His mother, Saada Gillon (née Frumkin), was born in Ottoman
Judea to which her ancestors immigrated from the
Russian Empire in the 19th century, likewise Gillon's maternal great grandfather was
Israel Dov Frumkin, a pioneer of Hebrew journalism who arrived 1859 (When Judea was part of Ottoman Syria). His maternal grandfather,
Gad Frumkin, was one of the first trained attorneys in British-Palestine (a novel parcellation after WW1), who was the only Jewish judge on the Supreme Court of Palestine during the
British Mandate era and was also a member of the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Board of Governors from the 1930s until his death. His maternal grandmother, Chana Frumkin, was the daughter of Aharon Eisenberg, a pioneer of the
First Aliyah who was one of the founders of
Rehovot, and was the President of
B'nai B'rith in Jerusalem. His mother served as Deputy Attorney General. His father, Colin Gillon, was born Colin Gluckman to a Jewish family in
Johannesburg,
South Africa, and immigrated to Palestine in 1937. Gillon's paternal grandmother, Katie Gluckman, was a prominent activist in the Zionist movement in South Africa. Colin served as State Attorney, and Hebraized his name from Gluckman to Gillon at Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion's insistence. Gillon studied at high school in the Jerusalem neighborhood of
Rehavia, and at the Academy of Music. He began his military service in the
Israel Defense Forces in the
Armored Corps, but was transferred to the
Artillery Corps. He was wounded in action in the
War of Attrition, and was discharged from the IDF in 1971. In 1972, he began studying political science and public administration at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Gillon is married to Sari. He has three children and five grandchildren. ==Shin Bet career==