Eli Cohen

Eli Cohen was born in 1940 in Hadera

Eli Cohen was born in Hadera on 18 December 1940. He served in the IDF as commander of the Nahal entertainment troupe.

From 1963 to 1967 he studied theater and psychology at Tel Aviv University. From 1970 to 1971 he studied at the London Film School.

In the late 1960s he began acting on stage and in film, often as a young romantic lead. He appeared at the Zavit, Cameri, Tzavta and Habima theaters, and played Estragon in Waiting for Godot 3 times opposite Shimon Lev-Ari. His film roles include Prisoners of Freedom in 1968, Neither by Day Nor by Night in 1972, which he also co-wrote, and John the Baptist in Jesus in 1979.

As a director he made documentaries for Israeli television, including Miluim in 1974. His feature Summer of Aviya won the Silver Bear at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival in 1989, and Under the Domim Tree was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in 1995.

He kept acting in later years, playing Uri Sadot in the series Ad HaKhatuna from 2008 to 2010. In 2016 he appeared in The Mountain and Moon in the 12th House.