Cohen, Geula

(1925- )

   Born in Tel Aviv to parents of Yemenite and Moroccan background. In her youth, she was a member of Betar and the Irgun, and in 1943, she joined LEHI (see STERN [GANG] GROUP). Later, she was arrested and sentenced to prison by the British authorities in Palestine. She graduated from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and worked as a journalist. After the Six-Day War (1967), Cohen became involved in the question of Soviet Jewry and in 1970 joined Herut. She was elected to the eighth Knesset (1973). She left Herut in June 1979 in opposition to the Camp David Accords and the Arab-Israeli peace process. She was elected to the 10th and subsequent Knessets on the Tehiya list, a party she helped to found and lead. The failure of Tehiya to pass the threshold for winning seats in the 13th Knesset (1992) led Cohen to retire from party politics. Nevertheless, she remained a strong supporter of nationalist positions. A resident of the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, Cohen is a vigorous opponent of the Oslo peace process. She is the mother of Tzachi Hanegbi, Likud member of the Knesset and government minister from 1996 to 1999 and since 2003, and currently Kadima member of Knesset.