Cohen Geulah Israeli journalist, political and public figure Date of Birth: 25.12.1925 Country: Israel

1. Early Life and Education
2. Lehi Activist and Political Involvement
3. Knesset Member and Political Leader
4. Awards and Recognition
5. Personal and Legacy

Early Life and Education

Geula Cohen was born in Tel Aviv in December 1925 to a family of Yemeni Jewish heritage. She attended the Balfour School and later the Levinsky Teachers Seminary. From an early age, she became involved in underground Jewish organizations in pre-state Palestine, joining the Etzel and then the Lehi in 1943. This resulted in her expulsion from the teachers seminary.

Lehi Activist and Political Involvement

Cohen played a prominent role in the Lehi underground radio station, becoming its announcer. She was arrested by the British police in February 1946 and sentenced to seven years in prison. Escaping in April 1947, she resumed her work at the radio station until the establishment of Israel. After her escape, she married Emanuel Hanegbi, a Lehi leader, and they had a son, Tzachi Hanegbi.

In the late 1940s, Cohen enrolled at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, earning a second degree in Bible, Philosophy, and Literature. During this time, she also worked as a journalist, initially for Israel Eldad's monthly magazine "Sulam" and later for the daily newspaper "Maariv" from 1961 to 1973. Her autobiographical book, "The Story of a Woman Underground," was published in 1962 and became widely translated into other languages.

Cohen remained politically active within right-wing Zionist movements, including the Herut party from 1970. She was instrumental in establishing the "Sela" student movement and subsequently the A. Ben-Eli'ezer National Seminary. After the Six-Day War, Cohen became an advocate for the settlement movement in the newly occupied territories.

Knesset Member and Political Leader

In 1973, Cohen was elected to the Knesset with the Likud bloc, of which Herut was a part. She was re-elected in the following Knesset election and served as chair of the Committee on Aliyah and Absorption. However, after the signing of the Camp David Accords, which returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, she left Likud and temporarily resided in the Jewish settlement of Yamit in the Sinai.

Together with Professor Yuval Ne'eman and Moshe Shamir, Cohen founded the nationalist Tehiya movement, which she represented in the Knesset until 1992. During her time in the Knesset as part of Tehiya, Cohen played a significant role in passing the Basic Law on Jerusalem, recognizing it as the unified capital of Israel, and the law annexing the Golan Heights. She continued to focus on issues of Jewish immigration and absorption, notably contributing to the preparation of Operation Moses, the centralizing of Ethiopian Jewish emigration to Israel.

In her final term in the Knesset, Cohen served as deputy minister of science and technology. However, in early 1992, she and other Tehiya members left the ruling coalition in protest at Israel's participation in the Madrid Peace Conference. This triggered the collapse of Yitzhak Shamir's government and early elections, in which Tehiya failed to pass the electoral threshold.

Cohen subsequently returned to Likud but no longer pursued high-profile political engagement. She purchased an apartment in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba as a gesture of support for its residents. In 1998, she founded the Uri Zvi Greenberg Memorial House in Jerusalem with the support of the municipality.

Awards and Recognition

In 2003, Geula Cohen was awarded the Israel Prize in recognition of her contributions to Israeli society and the state.

Personal and Legacy

Cohen's son, Tzachi Hanegbi, became one of the leading figures in the Likud party and held several ministerial positions.

Geula Cohen passed away on December 18, 2019, at the age of 93. Her funeral was held on December 19 on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Cohen's legacy as a dedicated underground activist, nationalist leader, and advocate for Jewish immigration and settlement remains significant in Israeli politics and society.