Yitzhak Cohen was born in Ashkelon, Israel in 1951.
He served in the IDF and was educated in a Talmudic college.
Cohen is a former Deputy Mayor of Ashkelon and a former Secretary-General of El Hama'ayan, the Shas-affiliated educational institution.
Yitzhak Cohen has been a member of the Knesset for the Shas party since 1996. He has served as a member of the Knesset House, Finance, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Labor and Social Affairs Committees.
Yitzhak Cohen served as Minister of Religious Affairs from July 1999 until his resignation in July 2000. He served as Deputy Minister of Finance from May 2001 until February 2003.
In May 2006 Yitzhak Cohen was appointed Minister without Portfolio, responsible for the religious councils.
He is married and has ten children.