Eliezer Cohen
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Eliezer Cohen ( he, אליעזר כהן, born 18 June 1934) is a former
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i 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 ...
for
Yisrael Beiteinu Yisrael Beiteinu ( he, יִשְׂרָאֵל בֵּיתֵנוּ, russian: Наш Дом Израиль, lit. ''Israel Our Home'') is a secularist, nationalist right-wing political party in Israel. The party's base was originally secular Russia ...
and the National Union between 1999 and 2006.


Biography

Eliezer 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 ...
. He earned an MA from
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
. Cohen is the older brother of
Nechemya Cohen Nechemiah Cohen ( he, נחמיה כהן; April 30, 1943 – June 5, 1967) is the most decorated soldier in the history of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He shares this honour with close friend and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and Major Am ...
, one of the most decorated soldiers in Israeli history, who was killed during the
Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
.


Aviation career

Cohen served as a pilot, squadron commander, base commander and Sinai area commander in the
Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...
until 1974 when he retired as a colonel. During his service he was decorated for courage for an operation behind enemy lines the details of which remain confidential. He went on to become the director general of the
Ben Gurion International Airport Ben Gurion International Airport, ; ar, مطار بن غوريون الدولي , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, it is th ...
and at the same time joined the
Free Centre The Free Centre ( he, המרכז החופשי, ''HaMerkaz HaHofshi'') was a political party in Israel. It is one of the forerunners of the modern-day Likud. History The party was created on 29 March 1967 during the sixth Knesset when Shmuel Tami ...
party. He also began working as a commercial pilot for
El Al El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural ...
where over 25 years he flew each of the airline's fleet aircraft as well as participated in the airlift of Jews from Iran and Ethiopia. In 1990 he published a best selling book about the history of the Israeli Airforce titled in Hebrew השמים אינם הגבול or the Sky is Not the Limit. The English version of the book, Israel's Best Defense, was published in the US and the UK by Orion Books (a Division of Random House).


Political career

Between 1977 and 1978 he was a member of the
Democratic Movement for Change The Democratic Movement for Change (, ''Tnu'a Demokratit LeShinui''), commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Dash (), was a short-lived and initially highly successful centrist political party in Israel. Formed in 1976 by numerous well-known non-pol ...
. He was also chairman of the Israeli Organization for a Change in the Government System and made significant contributions both in and out of the Knesset to establish a constitution for Israel. In 1999 he helped establish Yisrael Beiteinu, and was placed fourth on the Yisrael Beiteinu list for the elections that year. He entered the Knesset when the party won four seats, and during his first term, was a member of the House Committee, the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, the Committee on the Status of Women, the Science and Technology Committee, and the parliamentary inquiry Committee on the Issue of Water. During the Knesset term Yisrael Beiteinu allied with the National Union, and ran under its banner in the 2003 elections. Cohen was placed eighth on the alliance's list, and lost his seat when the party won only seven mandates. However, he re-entered the Knesset on 26 March 2003 (37 days after leaving it) after
Avigdor Lieberman Avigdor Lieberman (, ; russian: Эве́т Льво́вич Ли́берман, Evet Lvovich Liberman, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician serving as Minister of Finance since 2021, having previously served twice as Deputy ...
resigned his seat after being appointed Minister of Transport. Cohen decided not to run for re-election in the 2006 elections.


Controversy

On 21 October 2012 Cohen was convicted of indecently touching an El Al flight attendant during a trip from
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
to
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
. The stewardess filed a police complaint after the plane landed but Cohen denied the allegations. At the trial in
Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ar ...
Magistrate's Court before Judge Sarit Zamir, Cohen was found guilty. He appealed in a district court, with the judge ruling that as his act had no sexual basis. His conviction was amended from an indecent act to assault.Ariel University appoints convicted offender as disciplinary judge
Haaretz, 14 August 2014


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Eliezer 1934 births Politicians from Jerusalem Tel Aviv University alumni Living people Yisrael Beiteinu politicians National Union (Israel) politicians Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003) Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006) Commercial aviators Israeli people of Turkish-Jewish descent