Yehonatan (Yonatan) Cohen is the son of former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen and Aya Cohen. Born prematurely, he has cerebral palsy, leaving him wheelchair-bound, legally blind, and unable to read or write. Despite these severe challenges, his parents insisted on full societal integration, sending him to a special school in Hungary where he memorized his bar mitzvah portion (brachot and haftarah) by listening to recordings. He graduated high school with honors among non-disabled peers, demonstrating extraordinary determination that his father praised as the 'real hero' during Yossi's Mossad appointment, as reported in Mishpacha Magazine and the Jerusalem Post. His grandparents, Aryeh and Mina Cohen, reside in Jerusalem. Cohen enlisted in the IDF alongside his peers, serving nine months before officers' training, becoming a lead advisor, and advancing to an elite role in military intelligence Unit 8200, where he taught Islamic history and reached the rank of captain. A former officer in Unit 8200, he briefly pursued higher education but returned to IDF Intelligence due to his passion for the work. His service inspired Yossi Cohen to join Special in Uniform, advocating for the inclusion of disabled soldiers as a core expression of Israeli society.