Yael Cohen Paran | |
|---|---|
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| Faction represented in the Knesset | |
| 2015–2019 | Zionist Union |
| 2019 | Hatnua |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 October 1973 |
Yael Cohen Paran (Hebrew: יעל כהן-פארן, born 12 October 1973) is an Israeli environmentalist and politician, and co-chair of the Green Movement. She was a member of the Knesset for the Zionist Union from 2015 to 2019.
During her national service in the Israel Defense Forces Cohen Paran was an intelligence officer in Unit 8200.[1] She studied for a bachelor's degree in physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, before starting a master's degree at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. However, she then moved to Tel Aviv University to study for a master's in public policy.[1]
In 2007 Cohen Paran established the Israel Energy Forum, becoming its CEO.[2] She represented Israel at the 2002, 2007 and 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conferences.[1]
She joined the Green Movement, and was placed eighth on the joint Meimad–Green Movement list for the 2009 Knesset elections,[3] but the alliance failed to win a seat. In July 2013 she became co-chair of the Green Movement.[2] Prior to the 2015 elections she was placed 25th on the Zionist Union list,[4] a slot reserved for a candidate chosen by Hatnuah leader Tzipi Livni.[5] Although the alliance only won 24 seats, she entered the Knesset on 25 November 2015 as a replacement for Danny Atar, after he was elected head of the Jewish National Fund.[6]