Geulah Cohen was born in Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine to a Mizrahi Jewish family of Yemenite, Moroccan and Turkish origin.[10] During her career as a journalist, she visited Menachem Mendel Schneerson in New York, who encouraged her to focus on engaging with Israeli youth.[12] As an opponent of the Camp David Accords and the return of Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, Cohen was thrown out of the Knesset during Begin's presentation of the agreement.[7] In 1979, Cohen and Moshe Shamir left Likud to establish a new far-right party, initially called Banai, later Tehiya-Bnai, and then Tehiya.[7] The new party was a strong supporter of Gush Emunim and included prominent members from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza such as Hanan Porat and Elyakim Haetzni.