Yehuda HaKohen
Yehuda HaKohen is an Israeli settler, rabbi and community organizer.
Early life
Yehuda HaKohen made aliyah from New York City. After the Second Intifada, he enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces' Netzah Yehuda Battalion.
Activism and views
After years of helping to establish Israeli outposts in the West Bank, HaKohen emerged as a leader in the VISION Movement, Semitic Action, and is a head educator of the ATID student leadership program. As a proponent of the one-state solution, HaKohen advocates for the peaceful coexistence of Israelis and Palestinians. He is a proponent of further expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. HaKohen has described himself as a "post-Zionist," seeing "the Semitic Jewish people as an inherent and organic part of the Middle East", and that "once Israelis and Palestinians are both free to fully explore the nature of their people-hoods, the two populations will be able to make room for one another". HaKohen believes that the Oslo Accords were unsuccessful in that they sowed suspicion on both sides of the conflict instead of fostering peace. He maintains that Israel should not be dependent uponor be an outpost ofthe United States, but rather needs to find its own place in the Middle East amongst its neighbours. He discusses his views of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict on YouTube.
Personal life
HaKohen and his family settled in Beit El in the West Bank in 2009. He has eight children.