Ra'anan Cohen

Ra'anan Cohen is an Israeli former politician who served as a government minister during the early 2000s.

Biography

Born in Baghdad in Iraq, Cohen emigrated to Israel in 1951. During his youth he was a counsellor in the HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed youth movement, and was secretary of the Labor Party youth guard in Bnei Brak until 1970. He took Middle Eastern studies at Tel Aviv University, gaining a BA, MA and PhD in the subject. He served as chairman of Labor Party's Arab and Druze branch between 1975 and 1986, and from 1986 to 1992 chaired the party's elections branch.
In 1988 he was elected to the Knesset on the Alignment list. He was re-elected in 1992 and 1996. In December 1997 he was elected secretary-general of the party with 76% of the vote. He retained his seat in the 1999 elections and in August 2000 was appointed Welfare and [Social Services Minister of Israel|Minister of Labor and Social Welfare] in Ehud Barak's government of Israel|government] following Shas' departure from the coalition government.
When Ariel Sharon formed a national unity government following the 2001 Israeli [prime ministerial election|special election for Prime Minister] in 2001, Cohen became a Minister without Portfolio. He left the cabinet on 18 August 2002 and resigned from the Knesset three days later, retiring from politics.
Cohen has written several books, including Strangers in their Homeland: A Critical Study of Israel's Arab Citizens.