Rachel Cohen-Kagan

Rachel Cohen-Kagan was born in 1888 in Odesa

Rachel Lubarsky was born in 1888 in Odesa, in the Russian Empire. Her father, Yaakov Lubarsky, was one of the founders of the Lovers of Zion movement. Through him she met Zionist figures such as Ahad Ha'am and Hayim Nahman Bialik as a young girl.

She studied at universities in Odesa and Petrograd and completed her studies in mathematics. In 1913 she married Dr. Noah Cohen, a family doctor. She later received an honorary degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

She immigrated to the Land of Israel in 1919 aboard the ship Ruslan. She was active in the Hebrew Women's Organization and in setting up Tipat Halav clinics, and moved to Haifa in 1925. From 1932 to 1946 she chaired the social aid committee of the Haifa community committee, and in 1946 she headed the welfare department of the Jewish National Council.

In 1948 she signed the Declaration of Independence as the representative of WIZO. In 1949 she won WIZO's single Knesset seat and proposed a law on family and women's equality. She served again from 1961 to 1965 for the Liberal Party and later joined the breakaway Independent Liberals.

She chaired WIZO and later served as its honorary president, remaining active until her death in 1982. She had two sons. Streets in Ra'anana, Rishon LeZion and Haifa bear her name.