Michael D. Cohen, at The Blogs

Apply for a Blog

Jan 17, 2022, 9:37 PM

Let Your Voices Be Heard

Last week, the Simon Wiesenthal Center released its annual list of the 10 most anti-Semitic events in 2021. They ranged from incidents involving the BBC, Twitter, TikTok, Telegram, and Unilever to Iran’s nuclear capacity and the threats it has made against the Jewish state to...

Apr 16, 2021, 12:28 AM

Jews need to be combatting Anti-Asian hate

As a lifelong Yankee fan, and even more as a lifelong fan of the game of baseball, the shocking revelation that now-former Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka recently announced, upset me; in fact, it should concern us all deeply. Various press reports have indicated that one...

Dec 17, 2020, 11:11 PM

The Communal Bridges We Must Build Better

While flipping through cable channels late one evening, I stopped at the Jewish Broadcast Service. It was replaying an AIPAC policy conference panel from the pre-pandemic days, when we were able to congregate physically and interact. Amanda Berman of Zioness, who I had the pleasure...

Oct 8, 2020, 11:01 PM

Social Responsibility and Civics for Our Children

My children would say that I forced them to watch the presidential debate. One of them had shockingly preferred to play video games, one had wanted to watch her nightly Netflix show, one of them had suddenly wanted to make himself a gourmet dinner, one...

May 2, 2020, 7:18 AM

The pandemic and Yom Hashoah

This week was certainly not the kind of Yom Hashoah that world Jewry has ever experienced. At the Simon Wiesenthal Center, where learning, remembering and acting upon the lessons of the Shoah is our core responsibility, we wanted to give voice to our heroic, aging...

Apr 22, 2020, 10:00 PM

Combating anti-Semitism in the Age of Pandemic

These are trying and uncertain times, with so many members of our community and so many of our neighbors in the tri-state area sickened, some even dying from the coronavirus pandemic. On top of that, we are in lockdown, bereft of our schools, shuls, and...

Feb 20, 2020, 7:27 PM

Why I Brought My Children to Englewood’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. March

I am constantly trying to have my young children engaged in the work that I do at the Simon Wiesenthal Center so that they grow up with a culture of social responsibility and activism. When they hear about Black History Month, I am proud to...

Oct 7, 2019, 8:58 PM

‘Jew down’ is not a verb

Last week, I represented the Simon Wiesenthal Center as the keynote speaker at a forum on anti-Semitism at Camden County College. At that forum, I was asked, “What is the difference between the anti-Semitism of today and what we faced a few years ago?” My...

Aug 1, 2019, 10:24 PM

Developing Our Next Generation of Jewish Leaders

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a veteran in combatting the anti-Semitic BDS movement, expressed its appreciation for the amazing bipartisan support for the anti-BDS resolution that just passed in Congress. It is imperative to realize that all of this was achieved because people cared and let...

May 17, 2019, 9:59 PM

Listening to each others’ stories

TM Garret is a former leading white supremacist who once was a rising star in KKK-affiliated organizations. Dwania Kyles is a member of the famed Memphis 13, who led the integration of the Memphis public school system and whose family had a close relationship with...

Load more

About Me

Michael Cohen currently serves as Eastern Director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Mr. Cohen additionally serves on the Englewood, NJ City Council where he was recently elected to his third term. Mr. Cohen has previously held senior staff positions on Capitol Hill and in NYC and NYS governments for over 15 years. Mr. Cohen has also served as Director of Political and Strategic Affairs for a top NY lobbying firm.