Mike Cohen is a veteran military, political and security strategist who is dedicated to bringing Israel into the homes, lives and communities of like- minded friends everywhere. Currently on leave from Bar Ilan University, Mike is an active member of the Professors for Safe Israel and other pro-Israel think-tanks and serves as an adviser on Jewish and Israeli affairs for a number of non-Jewish pro-Israel organizations. In 2008, Mike was honored with Israel's prestigious Minster of Defense Award for IDF Reserve Support "The Reserve Shield" by Israel's Minister of Defense, Chief of Staff and Commander of Reserve Forces and in July 2010, he was honored by the United Chaplains of New York State. He is closely affiliated with the Eretz Hemdah Institute for Advanced Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and recently served as the first "Traveling Scholar" for Rabbi Shlomo Riskin's Ohr Torah Stone Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding & Cooperation as well as Esther Levens' Unity Coalition for Israel and Texans for Israel out of Amarillo, TX. In 2012 Mike completed the bilingual editing of Dr. Yoseph Mazur's book Zionism, Post-Zionism and the Arab Problem: A Compendium of Opinions About The Jewish State (Hebrew: Gefen Publishing House, Jerusalem - English: Professors for a Safe Israel & Westbow Press) and is now working on "Where There Is No Vision, People Die,” (Proverbs 29:18) and a book on the heroic contributions of non-Jews to the building of the new State of Israel. A veteran IDF reserve officer in an elite special-forces unit, Mike has been active in Israeli, American and Israel-Diaspora politics and business in a wide variety of behind-the-scenes capacities since his teen years and has served in a range of advisory positions under five Israeli Prime Ministers dating back to the late Menachem Begin, of blessed memory. He has worked with the entire gamut of news networks,electronic and print, has been called to consult on a range of topics for members of both houses of the United States Congress and in the Israeli Knesset and has addressed the entire alphabet soup of Jewish and Christian organizational life while wearing multiple professional hats in philanthropy, education, business, entrepreneurship, finance and counter-terrorism. During Operation Defensive Shield in April/May 2002, Mike was assigned as an IDF reservist to the National Emergency Response & Negotiation Team in Bethlehem that was tasked with handling the multifaceted and potentially explosive crisis surrounding the Church of the Nativity's hostile takeover by terrorists. Since that time he has been working with the IDF, Israel Police, and international NGO's assisting Israel's efforts to depoliticize the nation's security decisions and concerns, comprehensively briefing visiting diplomats, politicians, dignitaries, security experts and communal missions and trying to help redefine the electronic information distribution systems the official security services use to "get the word out." A former executive at the National Basketball Association, the American Sportscaster’s Association, the National Pro-Am City Leagues, Yad Vashem, Israel’s National Holocaust Memorial & Museum, Yeshiva University, the Orthodox Union and the Israel Ministry of Tourism, Mike is an oft-requested scholar-in-residence, lecturer and strategist on issues regarding Middle East security, the Military Aspects of International Conflict and Peace Making, Israel-Diaspora relations, Israeli Society and Body Politic, Homeland Security, Conflict Resolution, Christian relationships with Israel and the use of technology for community development. In 2002 Mike compiled "Ordinary People - Extraordinary Spirit" a 220-page photo essay that illustrated the amazing spirit shown by Israeli, Jewish and Christian Zionist society in the face of the ongoing campaign of global and domestic terror and "The Job of A Jewish Soldier" a children's book designed to help Jewish parents worldwide explain the images their children are seeing on TV in a gentler and more positive manner. To book Mike as a guest speaker or Scholar-in-Residence for your community, school, church, synagogue, Israel Program or tour, please contact kimberly@gogalil.com Mike is married to the wonderful Elana Joffe, VP, Acquisitions & Development at Insight Media, Inc. and is the proud father of Noa and Uriel. |
| About Mike Cohen |
| Mike Cohen: Speaker, Author, Educator |
| Winner of Israel's 2008 Minister of Defense Award for IDF Reserve Support |
| Zionism, Post-Zionism and The Arab Problem is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble If you would like to purchase direct or host a book signing, reading, lecture or debate, please send an e-mail to mazur@gogalil.com |