Meirav Cohen ( he, מֵירַב כֹּהֵן; born 26 August 1983) is an Israeli politician and activist. She is a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

for

Yesh Atid Yesh Atid ( he, יֵשׁ עָתִיד, , There Is a Future) is a liberal political party in Israel. Founded by Yair Lapid in 2012, it seeks to represent what it considers the centre of Israeli society: the secular middle class. It focuses prima ...

, was an MK for the Blue and White alliance from 2019 to 2021 and served as Minister for Social Equality from May 2020 to January 2021. She took up the post again in June 2021.

Biography

Meirav Cohen was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

to Solange Shulamit ( Pouni) and Saadia Cohen, who were

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

immigrants from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. Her father was a bus driver and her mother ran a day care center in their home. The family moved to

Mevaseret Zion Mevaseret Zion ( he, מְבַשֶּׂרֶת צִיּוֹן, literal meaning: Herald of Zion – Jerusalem) is a suburb of Jerusalem with the administrative status of a local council. Mevaseret Zion is composed of two distinct older townships, Mao ...

when she was in fifth grade. She attended Harel High School in Mevaseret. Meirav Cohen: Particulars
Knesset During her military service in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

, she served in the

Army Radio Army Radio ( he, גלי צה"ל lit. IDF waves) or Galei Tzahal, known in Israel by its acronym Galatz ( he, גל"צ), is a nationwide Israeli radio network operated by the Israel Defense Forces. The station broadcasts news, music, traffic reports ...

as a producer and editor. She graduated from the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

with a BA in economics and business administration, and an MA in business administration and urban studies. Cohen is married to Yuval Admon and has three children. The family resides in the

Yefeh Nof Yefeh Nof ( he, יפה נוף) is a neighborhood in west Jerusalem, founded in 1929. Together with Ramat Beit HaKerem and Givat Beit HaKerem, it is part of the larger Beit HaKerem neighborhood. Its name is one of the seventy poetic names the H ...

neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Civil service career

In 2004 she was appointed socio-economic spokesperson of the Prime Minister's Office under

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...

. In 2011 Cohen was elected to Jerusalem City Council as part of the Jerusalem Hitorerut party, becoming the portfolio holder for youth. She became CEO of the NGO Civic Trust, which promotes fair business practices, and founded a nonprofit that fights fraud against the elderly.

Political career

In 2013, she joined Tzipi Livni's

Hatnuah Hatnua ( he, הַתְּנוּעָה, lit=''The Movement'') was a liberal political party in Israel formed by former Israeli Foreign Minister and Vice Prime Minister Tzipi Livni to present an alternative to voters frustrated by the stalemate in th ...

party and was placed ninth on the party's list for the

2013 Knesset elections Early elections for the nineteenth Knesset were held in Israel on 22 January 2013. Public debate over the Tal Law had nearly led to early elections in 2012, but they were aborted at the last moment after Kadima briefly joined the government. Th ...

, but the party won only six seats. Prior to the April 2019 elections she joined the

Israel Resilience Party The Israel Resilience Party ( he, חוסן לישראל, Hosen LeYisrael, Resilience for Israel), is a liberal political party in Israel founded in December 2018 by Benny Gantz, former Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. The ...

. After the party joined the Blue and White alliance, she was given the seventeenth slot on the joint list, and was subsequently elected to the Knesset as the alliance won 35 seats. She was re-elected in September 2019 and March 2020. In May 2020 she was appointed Minister for Social Equality in the new government. In January 2021 she left Blue and White and joined

. In July 2021 she resigned from the Knesset under the Norwegian Law, remaining a government minister. As Minister for Social Equality, Cohen is in charge of implementing the government's 30-billion shekel five-year plan for the Arab sector.The Woman in Charge of Implementing Israel's Plan for Arabs

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Meirav 1983 births Living people 21st-century Israeli women politicians Blue and White (political alliance) politicians Government ministers of Israel Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni Israel Resilience Party politicians Israeli civil servants Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli politicians Members of the 21st Knesset (2019) Members of the 22nd Knesset (2019–2020) Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021) Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022) Members of the 25th Knesset (2022–) Israeli Mizrahi Jews Politicians from Jerusalem Israeli Sephardi Jews Women government ministers of Israel Women members of the Knesset Jerusalem School of Business Administration alumni Jewish women politicians Jewish women activists

Biography

Civil service career

Political career

See also

References

External links