A Lebanon-born historian who speaks to the Arab world in its own language takes on one of the region’s most urgent human-rights causes, according to the Movement’s founder, Tom Wegner.
Faith & Freedom News · fandfnews.com
The Abrahamic Movement has named Dr. Edy Cohen, a Lebanon-born historian who speaks to Arabic-speaking audiences in their own language, its Special Envoy for the human-rights crisis in Syria, with a focus on minority rights. The announcement is attributed to the Movement’s founder, Tom Wegner. The appointment was shared in a post on X.
Founder, The Abrahamic Movement · Author of The Abrahamic Revolution
LinkedIn profile · Read his full bio
A civil-society mission with a clear mandate
Based on the wording of the announcement, “Special Envoy” appears to be a position inside the Abrahamic Movement, not an Israeli government diplomatic appointment. FFN found no official government source confirming a state role, and the distinction matters when describing the position.
The Movement describes itself as a cross-border initiative focused on interfaith dialogue, community connections and cooperation, and says it works with minority communities including Assyrians, Alawites and Druze. Its site already lists Majd Jbaily as Special Envoy to the Alawite Community. That is a separate title and does not conflict with a Syria-wide human-rights remit for Dr. Cohen.
Who is Dr. Edy Cohen?
Few résumés prepare someone for this role as directly as Cohen’s. Born in Beirut, trained to doctoral level in Middle Eastern history, and fluent in the language and politics of the region he studies, he brings scholarly rigor and lived experience to the cause. Tap a heading below to read more about his background.
Early life
Born in Beirut in 1972, Cohen grew up in Lebanon. According to the National Library of Israel’s account of his testimony, his family left after his father was abducted and murdered in 1985, going first to France and later to Israel.
Scholarship
His ISGAP profile says he earned a PhD in Middle Eastern History at Bar-Ilan University in 2012, followed by postdoctoral fellowships at Bar-Ilan and Yad Vashem. His areas include inter-Arab relations, the Arab–Israeli conflict, antisemitism and Holocaust denial in the Arab world, Islamist terrorism, and Jewish communities in Arab countries. His 2017 Hebrew-language book is The Holocaust in the Eyes of Mahmoud Abbas.
Public work
ISGAP identifies him as a researcher at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. A native Arabic speaker, he reaches Arabic-speaking audiences through media and social platforms, as described by ISGAP and the National Library of Israel.
Minorities conference, 2025
Cohen organized a Tel Aviv conference on the future of Middle Eastern minorities. The Times of Israel reported that representatives of Alawite, Druze, Kurdish and Assyrian communities attended, and that discussion covered minority protections and a proposed regional liaison office to monitor rights and protection issues.
“We are all children of Abraham.”The Abrahamic Movement’s motto, as shown in its campaign imagery
Why it matters
Syria’s minorities need advocates who understand them, and Cohen is well placed to be one. His scholarship spans inter-Arab politics and the fate of Jewish communities in Arab countries. His Arabic lets him speak to communities directly rather than through intermediaries. And his 2025 Tel Aviv conference showed he can bring Alawite, Druze, Kurdish and Assyrian representatives into the same room, where it produced a practical idea: a regional liaison office to monitor rights and protection issues. That gives the new envoy role a concrete starting point.
- Scholarship: PhD in Middle Eastern History, Bar-Ilan University (2012), with postdoctoral fellowships at Bar-Ilan and Yad Vashem.
- Lived experience: born in Beirut in 1972 and raised in Lebanon before his family’s move to France and then Israel.
- Reach: a native Arabic speaker who engages Arabic-speaking audiences through media and social platforms.
- Track record: organizer of a 2025 conference on the future of Middle Eastern minorities.
The Movement’s own line, “We are all children of Abraham,” is a fitting frame for the work: protection and dignity for every community, whatever its faith. The envoy’s programs have not yet been detailed, and FFN will report them as they are published.
About Tom Wegner
Profile picture as supplied for this article.Tom Wegner on LinkedIn
Founder, The Abrahamic Movement · Author of The Abrahamic Revolution · Speaker on Jewish–Muslim Dialogue · Strategic Consultant · Kfar Saba, Center District, Israel
Tom Wegner is an Israeli author, strategic consultant and peace activist, and the founder of the Abrahamic Movement, a grassroots network that builds direct relationships between Jews, Muslims and Christians across the Middle East.
His book, The Abrahamic Revolution, written in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 war, argues for an Abrahamic common ground as a moral foundation, not a religious slogan. In 2025 a Moroccan newspaper named him one of its “Men of the Year,” and he serves as Honorary President of Morocco’s MHCO humanitarian organization.
Wegner speaks to Jewish and interfaith audiences about what he has learned from years of direct dialogue with politicians, clerics, intellectuals and journalists across the Muslim world: how trust is built between neighbors, what Israelis and Arabs share, and what a shared future could look like.
Earlier in his career he was spokesperson for Prime Minister Ehud Barak, media consultant to Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and spokesperson for the Peres Center for Peace under Shimon Peres. He has advised coexistence initiatives and international bodies including the UN, the European Union and the World Bank, and he leads the PR firm UPdate. His first book, Cannabis Wars, was a bestseller and won the Global Book Award for its English edition.
The Movement’s team page lists Wegner as co-founder and CEO.
© 2026 Faith & Freedom News (FFN). Article by Khurram Ali Raza.
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