The Official Version
Karma Feinstein-Cohen is the Executive Director of World Magshimey-Herut and World Herut which she founded in 1999. Since then, Ms. Feinstein Cohen has worked tirelessly to advance the movements goals both worldwide and in Israel. Long committed to the ideology of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, she previously served in various leadership positions within Betar for over eleven years.
After serving as the Education Coordinator for Betar Israel and as the Regional Coordinator for the Settlement Region, Ms. Feinstein-Cohen became Head of the Overseas Dept. for World Betar Executive and then Treasurer in 1994. Through the WZO, she headed up the "Manof" program run by the department of "youth and halutz" in the WZO and worked as a short-term shaliach in 1996 and 1997. She also operated as the co-chair for the council of World Zionist youth movements (1998-2000).
Ms. Feinstein-Cohen moved to Israel from New Jersey with her family when she was 11. After serving in the Israeli army, she received her B.A. in political economics from Tel Aviv University and is currently working on her Masters degree in the same field.
She now lives in Shaarey Tikva with her husband and two children.
Ms. Feinstein-Cohen is a member of presidium of the Zionist General Council of the WZO and has been a Jewish Agency committee member since 2002. Since October 2016 she serves as a Board Member.
“...it was one thing to talk about Zionism ... but moving to Israel was an entirely different matter...”
The less official version
I was born into Zionism - my parents were both members of the revisionist movement in the United States... Israel and Zionism were always the main topic for discussion. My maternal grandfather helped smuggle weapons to assist the Jewish underground in its struggle to liberate the Land of Israel from the British mandate. My paternal grandfather established the Herzlia Hebrew teachers Institute in New York. From my third birthday on we spent every single summer in Israel ...
As a typical Jewish American girl it was fine to “observe” things as a tourist ... but when my mother announced that we would be making Aliyah after sixth grade I felt as if my life was about to end ... it was one thing to talk about Zionism ... but moving to Israel was an entirely different matter ( especially when it meant leaving my beloved “mommy” ( maternal grandmother) back in the “goldene medina”.
Living in Israel as an almost teenager was complicated to say the least. I was the “Amerikayit” and they were the real deal.
After three years of attempting to acclimate to the Middle East, my friends convinced me to come to an activity “Peula” in the local Zionist youth movement “Machanot Olim”.
There is no doubt in my mind that that was the turning point in my approach to Israel and ( my own) personal approach to Zionism. I remember the day I finally felt that “I belonged” - we were parading to our movement Purim party... I was finally home. That was the beginning of my Zionist journey. It took me years to shed my “American individualism” for the Jewish and Israeli collective. I am still culturally very American but also very Israeli as well ( I hope I chose the best of both worlds ). Today after living in Israel for forty years I am still absolutely madly in love with our country and our Nation.
I am Karma Feinstein Cohen and I am a Zionist!