In 1970 he was elected as Secretary of Kibbutz Gan Shmuel. In 1984 he was first elected to the
Knesset as a member of
Ratz (headed by
Shulamit Aloni) after he headed the
Left Camp of Israel peace movement. Starting in 1992, he served as a member of
Meretz, a dovish
left wing party which resulted from the merger of
Mapam,
Ratz and
Shinui. He was
Minister of Industry and Trade in
Ehud Barak's government. He headed several Knesset committees, including the Security and Foreign Affairs committee. Cohen is most identified with "Law of Public Housing", which allowed residents of houses supplied by the state to assume ownership on the house. He also pass a law regulating
minimum wage. After Meretz merged with
Yossi Beilin's
Shachar movement and renamed itself Yachad in 2004, Cohen ran for the chairmanship of the new party, but lost to Beilin. Supporters of Cohen blamed his defeat on anti-
Mizrahi racism within the party and pointed out that he was the only non-
Ashkenazi to reach a senior position within it. On 1 November 2008, following Beilin's resignation, he announced his intention to retire from political life and not to seek a spot on the party's list ahead of the
upcoming general elections. He said "I want to start chapter three of my life, to do things for my soul: writing, lecturing, taking part in social and public initiatives that interest me". ==Public service career==