Eli Cohen (Israeli Politician and Diplomat)

Ynet described Cohen as 53 in February 2002 and 55 in July 2004, placing his birth around 1949, although neither profile gave an exact date.[1][2] He was a resident of Ma'ale Adumim, was married, and had three daughters. He had been formally active in Likud since 1985 and was a Betar member.[1]

Cohen served in the Israel Defense Forces and reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.[2] In April 1984, while working as an insurance agent in central Jerusalem, he recounted hearing gunfire and explosions and running downstairs with his pistol. He said he shot a terrorist who rose holding a grenade, pursued him when he got up again, and struck him with the pistol after it malfunctioned. The grenade fell and exploded, and Cohen recalled that "to this day I have a fragment as a souvenir in my buttock."[2]

Cohen held several positions in defense and settlement administration before entering elected politics. From 1991 to 1992, he headed the Youth and Nahal Department at the Ministry of Defense. He then served as director-general of the Jewish Agency's Settlement Division from 1993 to 1996 and as an assistant to Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai on settlement, infrastructure, and development-area matters.[1]

Cohen also served as head of the Ma'ale Adumim council and as a member of the Yesha Council. When Silvan Shalom was deputy defense minister, Cohen advised him on settlement affairs.[2]

In February 2002, Cohen was next in line to enter the Knesset for Likud, replacing Yehoshua Matza after Matza was appointed president of the Bonds organization. Cohen occupied the 20th position on the party list after reaching 23rd place in the Likud primaries and moving upward following several departures.[1] He went on to serve one term in the Knesset and did not secure reelection.[2]

As he prepared to enter the Knesset, Cohen said legislators should promote a more civil public image and respect differing views. He said he believed both the political left and right wanted what was best for the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, while emphasizing that he would vigorously defend his own positions.[1]

After failing to win reelection, Cohen became Israel's ambassador to Japan in 2004.[2] He brought familiarity with the country from business dealings, spoke basic Japanese, and had an extensive background in karate.[2]

As ambassador, Cohen sought to address what he viewed as limited Japanese public knowledge of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He planned a "Week of Israel" and an Israeli film festival to present what he called "the beautiful Israel," beyond the conflict-related images commonly shown on Japanese television.[2]

Cohen's public profile combined military, political, business, and martial-arts experience. The 2004 profile identified him as a former Israeli karate champion and a fifth-degree black belt. Cohen said karate informed his diplomatic approach by encouraging openness, empathy toward an opponent, and careful listening before decisions were made.[2]

His cultural initiatives in Japan reflected an effort to present Israeli society through film, community life, and shared interests rather than allowing public perceptions of the country to be shaped solely by coverage of conflict.[2]

Cohen's posting to Tokyo drew criticism because it was a political appointment to a position usually filled by veteran career diplomats. Critics questioned his diplomatic experience, direct manner, English proficiency, and suitability for representing Israel in Japan. Cohen defended political appointments in principle and said Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom had selected him because he was suited to the position.[2]

Cohen also expressed strongly contested political views. In 2002, he said, "I am not an extremist … but I say an absolute no to a Palestinian state. It would be suicide for the State of Israel."[1] In 2004, he said he had told a Japanese deputy foreign minister, "You have become pro-Arab. You are like the Arab League!" He argued that Japan should act fairly if it wished to participate in efforts concerning the conflict.[2]