Shalom Cohen ( he, שלום כהן, 1926–1993) was an Israeli politician who served as 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 ...

between 1969 and 1974.

Biography

Born in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, Cohen's family moved to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

when he was six years old. He attended an English college in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, where he was one of the founders of the local

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair ( he, הַשׁוֹמֵר הַצָעִיר, , ''The Young Guard'') is a Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary, and it was also the name of the group ...

branch. He made

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

in 1946, and joined kibbutz

Nahshonim Nahshonim ( he, נַחְשׁוֹנִים, ''lit.'' Pioneers) is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located in the south of the Sharon plain near Rosh HaAyin, it falls under the jurisdiction of Drom HaSharon Regional Council. In it had a population of ...

. During the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

he was part of the

Samson's Foxes Samson's Foxes ( he, שועלי שמשון, ''Shu'alei Shimshon'') was an Israeli commando unit of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was part of the 54th Battalion (commanded by Zvi Zur) of the Givati Brigade. The unit participated in various batt ...

commando unit in the

Givati Brigade The 84th "Givati" Brigade ( he, חֲטִיבַת גִּבְעָתִי, , "Hill Brigade" or "Highland Brigade") is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Until 2005, the Brigade used to be stationed within the Gaza Strip and primarily perf ...

. It was there that he met

Uri Avnery Uri Avnery ( he, אורי אבנרי, also transliterated Uri Avneri; 10 September 1923 – 20 August 2018) was an Israeli writer, politician, and founder of the Gush Shalom peace movement. A member of the Irgun as a teenager, Avnery sat for two ...

. In 1950, Cohen and Avnery bought the ''

HaOlam HaZeh ''HaOlam HaZeh'' ( he, העולם הזה, lit. ''This World'') was a weekly news magazine published in Israel until 1993. The magazine was founded in 1937 under the name ''Tesha BaErev'' (Hebrew: תשע בערב, ''Nine in the Evening'') but was ...

'' weekly magazine, which he remained an editor of until 1971. He was amongst the founders of the

HaOlam HaZeh – Koah Hadash Meri ( he, מר"י, an acronym for ''Mahaneh Radikali Yisraeli'' (Hebrew: ), lit. ''Israeli Radical Camp'') was a small radical left-wing political party in Israel. It was founded in the 1960s as HaOlam HaZeh – Koah Hadash by Uri Avnery, editor o ...

political movement, and became its secretary general in 1966. In

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

he was elected to the Knesset on the party's list. However, he left the movement in 1971, and from 4 January 1972,Mergers and Splits Among Parliamentary Groups
Knesset website sat as an independent for the remainder of the Knesset term. He joined the

Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxism-Leninism, Marxist-Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. New ...

in 1971 and served as their secretary general until 1977. Between 1971 and 1977 he was also a member of the

Histadrut Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, originally ( he, ההסתדרות הכללית של העובדים בארץ ישראל, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center ...

's executive committee. In the 1977 elections he ran as part of the Hofesh party together with Yehoshua Peretz. However, it failed to cross the electoral threshold. He later worked as a journalist for the French language paper '' Le Matin''. He died in 1993.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Shalom (politician) 1926 births 1993 deaths Iraqi Jews Politicians from Baghdad Iraqi emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli soldiers Israeli journalists Israeli trade unionists Jewish socialists Meri (political party) politicians Members of the 7th Knesset (1969–1974) Hashomer Hatzair members Burials at Segula Cemetery 20th-century journalists Iraqi expatriates in Egypt