Born in 1892 in Łódź (Poland), he emigrated to Palestine, where he studied at Lyceum Herzliah in Tel Aviv.
In 1922 he discussed a dissertation in philosophy entitled "Introduction à l'histoire des institutions sociales et politiques chez les Sémites".
He published numerous articles in "Mercure de France" dealing with Jewish matters and Zionism.
Jean-François Steiner became an author whose book Treblinka: The Revolt of an Extermination Camp helped to define the Nazi Holocaust.
In 1941 Cohen was imprisoned at Compiègne, where he founded a group called Massada supporting the creation of a Jewish state.