Menachem Hacohen (; born 26 July 1932) is an Israeli

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

, writer, thinker and former politician. He headed the Religious Worker faction in the

Histadrut Histadrut, fully the New General Workers' Federation () and until 1994 the General Federation of Labour in the Land of Israel (, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center and represents the m ...

trade union, was 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 ...

for 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 ...

between 1974 and 1988 and also served as chief rabbi of the

Moshavim Movement The Moshavim Movement (, ''Tnu'at HaMoshavim'') is one of the main Settlement movement (Israel), settlement movements in Israel, whose members are cooperative villages organized as moshavim and moshav shitufi, moshavim shitufiim. History Founded i ...

and the Histadrut. Between 1997 and 2011 he held the post of rabbi of Romanian Jewry. His wife is Israeli historian

Devorah Hacohen Dvora Hacohen (; born 7 November 1936) is an Israeli historian and professor in the Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. Her research interests are in the development of Israeli society. Early l ...

Biography

Born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

during the Mandate era, Hacohen was educated in the

Slabodka yeshiva Slabodka yeshiva may refer to: * Hebron Yeshiva, a branch of the Slabodka Yeshiva in Hebron, relocated afterward to Jerusalem * Slabodka yeshiva (Bnei Brak), a branch of the Slabodka yeshiva in Bnei Brak * Yeshivas Knesses Yisrael (Slabodka) Ye ...

, before being certified as a

. He began his military service in 1951 in the

Nahal Nahal () (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training in entrepr ...

brigade, and held the post of chief editor of the Army Rabbi's publications from 1951 until 1955. Between 1952 and 1954 he also served as the Religious Ceremonies Officer in the General Staff. He went on to work as a rabbi in the

navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

from 1955 until 1956. In 1967 he became the rabbi of the

, before serving as the

's rabbi from 1968 until 1979. While serving as rabbi of the

Moshavim A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms settler, pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 190 ...

, he met the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi

Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson ( – June 12, 1994; Anno Mundi, AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was an American Orthodox rabbi and the most rec ...

, who gave him four Torah Scrolls as a donation. In

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

he was elected to the Knesset. He was re-elected in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, before losing his seat in the 1988 elections. Hacohen has also written several books, including ''The Stones Speak: History and Folklore about the Holy Places Liberated by the IDF'' (1967), ''Book of the Life of Man: Weddings'' (1986), ''Book of the Life of Man: Birth'' (1991), ''The Belief of a Nation'' (1996) and ''From Year to Year'' (1996).Menachem Hacohen: Public Activities
Knesset He is also interested in

interfaith dialogue Interfaith dialogue, also known as interreligious dialogue, refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religion, religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spirituality, spiritual or humanism, hum ...

, and currently sits on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the

Elijah Interfaith Institute Elijah Interfaith Institute is a nonprofit, international, UNESCO-sponsored interfaith organization founded by Alon Goshen-Gottstein in 1997. The organization is headquartered in Jerusalem, with offices and representatives in different cou ...

.The Elijah Interfaith Institute - Jewish Members of the Board of World Religious Leaders
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hacohen, Menachem 1932 births Chief rabbis of Romania 20th-century rabbis in Jerusalem Jews from Mandatory Palestine Rabbinic members of the Knesset Israeli non-fiction writers Living people Israel Defense Forces rabbis Alignment (Israel) politicians Members of the 8th Knesset (1974–1977) Members of the 9th Knesset (1977–1981) Members of the 10th Knesset (1981–1984) Members of the 11th Knesset (1984–1988) 20th-century Romanian rabbis 21st-century rabbis in Jerusalem Israeli trade unionists