Politicsבנו כהן

Benno Cohen

Benno Cohen was an Israeli lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Knesset from 1961 to 1965.

1894 to 1975Liberal Party Knesset memberLeading German Zionist FederationCo-founding the New Aliyah PartyTestimony at the Eichmann trial

Born: 30 September 1894, Germany
Died: 24 November 1975, Tel Aviv
Occupation: politician, pedagogue, lawyer, advocate
Party: The Israeli Liberal Party
Education: University of Wrocław
Wars: World War I

Benno Cohen was born in 1894 in Germany

Benno Cohen was born in Germany in 1894. He was among the leaders of the Blue-White youth movement and served in the German Army during World War I.

He studied law at the University of Breslau, where he was active in the Zionist Students Association. He qualified as a lawyer.

He visited Mandatory Palestine several times and worked on plans for agricultural settlement. From 1933 to 1939 he was general secretary of the Zionist Federation of Germany. The Gestapo arrested him in 1936.

In 1939 he moved to Palestine. He helped found the New Aliyah Party in 1942 and the Progressive Party in 1948. He later lectured at the School for Law and Economics in Tel Aviv and chaired the Disciplinary Court for civil servants.

In 1961 he testified at the Eichmann trial and was elected to the Knesset for the Liberal Party. In 1965 he joined the Independent Liberals and lost his seat that year. He died in 1975.