Eliad Cohen

Eliad Cohen (אליעד כהן) (born in Acre, Israel on May 11, 1988) is an Israeli producer, actor, model, entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of Gay-ville, a gay-friendly vacation rental service headquartered in Tel Aviv. He became a prominent Israeli gay personality after being chosen as the cover model of the Spartacus International Gay Guide for the 2011-2012 issue, which led to various magazine covers around the world.

After completing his military service, Eliad Cohen began a modelling career, later branching into organizing of events, most notably Arisa and PAPA series, promotion of Tel Aviv Gay Pride events and various activities in support of gay-friendly Israeli tourism. He also established a prominent online service through his own Gay-ville website.

Career
Eliad is well known for his role as the presenter of the Arisa party series, which is the first international party dedicated to Mizrahi, a form of Middle Eastern influenced music. Eliad was approached by the Arisa creative team and asked to star in one of their music videos. The first video proved to be a success and a video series was soon launched in which Eliad was prominently featured alongside Israeli drag queen Uriel Yekutiel. The Arisa videos have proved very popular and have an international following online. But they have also drawn criticism for their depiction of various themes and characters. In November 2011, the Arisa party line traveled to São Paulo, Brazil where Eliad and the rest of the Arisa team were featured in front of an audience of nearly 1,000 people.

He is the co-founder of Gay-ville (aka G-ville), a gay-friendly, global vacation and apartment rental network based out of Tel Aviv, Israel. Cohen is also founder of the PAPA Party that was launched in Tel Aviv in association with Tel Aviv Gay Pride. Since 2012, he has launched it internationally with events in various American, Canadian, European and Latin American venues.

Media
A few months later Spartacus International Gay Guides contacted Eliad with the proposition of Cohen appearing on the cover of the guide's 2011-2012 issue,  which he accepted, and later heavily promoted in Europe.

In February 2013, Out magazine readers voted him as second in its "Top 10: Eligible Bachelors" feature with top spot going to Chris Colfer. His appearance on the cover of Spanish gay publication OhMyGod created controversy when Spanish photographer Juan Pablo Santamaria depicted Eliad Cohen under the provocative title "Eliad Cohen: El nuevo mesías gay de Israel" (Eliad Cohen: the new gay messiah of Israel).

Personal life
Eliad was born on May 11, 1988 in Acre, Israel. After completing high school, he served in the Israel Defense Forces in an elite combat unit for three years. After completing his army service, Eliad moved to Tel Aviv where he worked as a barman in various bars and clubs before launched his career. He also ventured into modelling and posed for a number of advertisements. He always wears the chai, as a sign of pride in Israel. Cohen is openly gay after coming out to his parents when he was twenty years old.