Amnon Cohen ( he, אמנון כהן; born 1 June 1960) is an Israeli former politician. He served as a member of the
Knesset
The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (wit ...
for
Shas
Shas ( he, ש״ס) is a Haredi religious political party in Israel. Founded in 1984 under the leadership of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, a former Israeli Sephardi chief rabbi, who remained its spiritual leader until his death in October 2013, it primarily ...
from 1999 until 2015.
Biography
Born in
Samarkand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
(today in
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
), Cohen made
aliyah
Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the State of Israel. Traditionally descri ...
to Israel in 1973. He gained a BA in business administration at the Center for Academic Studies in
Kiryat Ono and took a two-year course at the Institute for Local Government in
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...
.
Cohen served as deputy mayor and acting mayor of
Ramla
Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations.
The city was f ...
, and chaired the city's Organisation for Prisoner Rehabilitation. He has also been a member of the city union on Secondary Education, the Ayalon Sewage Programme, the Ayalon Fire Department and the board of Amal College.
He was first elected to the Knesset on Shas' list in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
and chaired the Public Petitions committee. He retained his seat in the
2003 elections, after which he chaired the State Control and Economic Affairs committees. He was re-elected again in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
, and served as a Deputy
Speaker of the Knesset. In 2006 he won the Quality of Government Badge for legislators. He retained his seat in the
2009 elections after being placed fourth on the Shas list. He was re-elected again in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
.
Prior to the
2015 elections Cohen announced that he would not contest the elections, and would leave the Knesset. In 2016 he was investigated for allegations of corruption, following an investigative report on
Israel Channel 2.
The case was closed in June 2021 due to difficulties in collecting evidence.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Amnon
1960 births
Living people
Deputy mayors of places in Israel
Deputy Speakers of the Knesset
Israeli people of Uzbekistani-Jewish descent
Jewish Israeli politicians
Mayors of places in Israel
People from Ramla
Members of the 15th Knesset (1999–2003)
Members of the 16th Knesset (2003–2006)
Members of the 17th Knesset (2006–2009)
Members of the 18th Knesset (2009–2013)
Members of the 19th Knesset (2013–2015)
People from Samarkand
Shas politicians
Soviet emigrants to Israel
Soviet Jews
Uzbekistani emigrants to Israel
Uzbekistani Jews
Ono Academic College alumni