David Hacohen (; 20 October 1898 – 19 February 1984) was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

between 1949 and 1953, and again from 1955 until 1969. He fought with the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the war he studied law and economics in London, then returned to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

in the 1920s. He was a member of

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

and served with the British in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was arrested by the British in Operation Agatha.

Biography

Hacohen was born in

Gomel Gomel (, ) or Homyel (, ) is a city in south-eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it is the List of cities and largest ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(today in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

).David Hacohen: Particulars
Knesset He studied at a local

heder A ''cheder'' (, lit. 'room'; Yiddish pronunciation: ''khéyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th century. L ...

, before his family

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

to Ottoman-controlled Palestine in 1907. He then attended Herzliya Hebrew High School. In 1916 he joined the

and fought in

. Following the war, he studied law and economics in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

between 1919 and 1923. After returning to Palestine he became Director of the Office of Public Works and Planning, which later became a company under the name Solel Boneh.David Hacohen: Public activities
Knesset He also became a member of the

, which operated an underground radio station from his home in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

, and was elected to Haifa City Council. During

he was an officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, serving as a liaison between the British Army and the Haganah. However, following the war he was arrested by the British authorities during Operation Agatha in 1946 and imprisoned. In the same year he married the writer Bracha Habas. In 1949 Hacohen was elected to the first Knesset on the Mapai list. He was re-elected in 1951 elections but resigned from the Knesset on 1 December 1953 after he was appointed Israeli ambassador to

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

, a post he held until 1955. That year he was returned to the Knesset on the Mapai list and was subsequently re-elected in

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

and

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

, by which time Mapai had formed the

Alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Struc ...

alliance with Ahdut HaAvoda, serving until the 1969 elections. During his time as an MK, he was a delegate to the

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...

and served on its executive board. Hacohen died in 1984 at the age of 85.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hacohen, David 1898 births 1984 deaths People from Gomel People from Gomelsky Uyezd Belarusian Jews Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Jews from the Russian Empire Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Ashkenazi Jews from Ottoman Palestine Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium alumni Ottoman military personnel of World War I Haganah members British Army personnel of World War II Israeli Labor Party politicians Israeli prisoners and detainees Mapai politicians Alignment (Israel) politicians Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959) Members of the 4th Knesset (1959–1961) Members of the 5th Knesset (1961–1965) Members of the 6th Knesset (1965–1969) Ambassadors of Israel to Myanmar Prisoners and detainees of the British military Immigrants of the Second Aliyah Mandatory Palestine military personnel of World War II