Cohen was convicted of espionage. He took on the name Kamel Amin Thaabet and went to live in Argentina for some time to build a name for himself in the Syrian expat community. In 1962 Eli cohen was in Damascus with crowded mosques and colorful souks, he rented a luxurious villa in the classy Abu Ramen neighborhood, close to the Syrian embassy. Learn more. He was eventually exposed and captured by Syrian Intelligence in 1965, sentenced to death and hung at Damascus' main square. The actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has a . they let him see fortification and the bunkers, weapon concentrated in the area, and their offensive plans.l lieutenant. In a display of generosity, the tabet contributed some money to build a public kitchen for the poor of Damascus. He lasted until just July that year when he resigned in protest of the Ba'ath military committee executing dissenting rivals who tried to stage a coup for power. The new Ba'ath government initially installed Lu'ay al-Atassi as president in March 1963. - From Eli Cohen's last letter to his wife Nadia and his children, written an hour before his execution in Damascus. They had a son, Daniel, and after the Six Day War they celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. "The Spy" depicts Egyptian-born Cohen - played by Sacha Baron Cohen - as an ambitious, Arabic-speaking immigrant to Israel who is recruited by Mossad and, overcoming his fears and the strains on his family, infiltrates the Damascus high command by posing as a rich scion of the Syrian diaspora. Once registered, youll receive our Daily Edition email for free. For more than 50 years, Nadia has fought to have her husbands body returned to Israel. Eli Cohenarrived in Buenos Aires and checked into a hotel .a local teacher would get in touch with him and teach him the Spanish language. While Eli was not directly involved with the Operation Susannah spies, he was involved with pro-Israel activity, and he was brutally questioned by Egypts Intelligence Services. They warned me not to discuss the issue with Eli anymore and to share his secret with no one.". The Baath party was rising to power and Eli Cohen wanted to be there when it took power. On July 5, 2018, media channels announced that Elis wristwatch had been retrieved from Syria, which was later given back to Eli's family by 'Mossad' in a ceremony. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/nadia-cohen-46980.php. Eli Cohen, at 29, offered his services to the Israeli Intelligence Services but was rebuked twice. [12][16], In 2016, a Syrian group calling itself "Syrian art treasures" posted a video on Facebook showing Cohen's body after his execution. [7][9], Israel staged an international campaign for clemency, hoping to persuade the Syrians not to execute him. At first, he refused. He would entertain high-ranking politicians and military officials at extravagant parties where there would be many women and lots of booze. She also said she understood and respected the show. Nadia believed it and went to see him off at the airport in 1961. he transfers all operations to Mossad, Eli was now Mossad agent. The Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, plans to name one of the buildings in its compound after Eli Cohen - its spy in Syria who was caught in Damascus, tried, convicted and executed 40 years ago. Maurice isn't sure what this means. As we saw, the Syrians continually harassed Israels northern settlements from 1948-67. Eli was caught in the act and there was nothing he could do. The execution was broadcast on Syrian television. Still, Israeli Intelligence asked him to return to Syria one more time. Given their history of a paper trail, its fitting but heartbreaking to learn that their final exchange also took place over written correspondence. "My darling Nadia, and my dear family,I am writing you these last words, minutes before my end, with the hope that you stay together forever.I beg my wife to forgive me, to take care of herself and our children. Monthir Maosily, a former bureau chief for Syrian president Hafez al-Assad, claimed in 2007 that Hafiz and Cohen were not as close as was made out and that stories of Cohen infiltrating the very top of Syrian politics "had been exaggerated to undermine Syria, as if he was a spy who had transmitted Syria's deepest secrets.". For as little as $6/month, you will: Were really pleased that youve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month. In January 1965, Syrian government officials announced that Eli is an Israeli spy. Despite her criticism of the series, Ben-Dor said she understood why the shows creators took artistic license with her fathers story. But it . But as with all fictional works that derive from real-life events, The Spy, perhaps for reasons ranging from time constraints to story relevance, omits some points in Cohen's story. A memorial stone has been erected in the 'Garden of the Missing Soldiers' in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, to commemorate him. Syrian security services led by Suidani broke into Cohen's apartment on 24 January and caught him in the middle of a transmission to Israel. One of the ministrys directors entered the room unannounced. Kamal Amin Taabet (also called Tabas in some sources) was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Syrian Muslim parents. By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. It is for these reasons Eli Cohen is known as Israels greatest spy. One day they took Eli to visit the Syrian positions along Israel's border. In 1960, Cohen was approached by the Mossad for a mission in Syria. Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Defense Minister Ezer Weizmann, Chief of Staff Mordechai Gur, and several Mossad operatives all attended his son's Bar Mitzvah in 1977. At this time the Ba'ath Party was illegal in Syria but the party seized power in 1963. - From Eli Cohen's last letter to his wife Nadia and his children, written an hour before his execution in Damascus. Over the years, her relationship with the Mossad and that of her children, Sophie Ben-Dor, Irit Peleg and Shai Cohen, unraveled. Instead, he joined the Egyptian merchant marine and was involved in a number of scams, which resulted in his arrest by the Egyptian secret service in 1952. He had seventeen lovers in Syria, all dazzling beauties with a fair degree of family power. Eli hoped as did Israeli Intelligence that these women would help him escape in time of crisis.. HERZLIYA, Israel (Reuters) - A Netflix drama about Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who infiltrated the Syrian government in the 1960s and was later executed, has received a . Eli had to conceal the microfilm inexpensive boxes containing backgammon pieces .the music ornament could be dug out of the polished wood and reinserted after microfilm had been placed in the cavity. He emigrated to Israel with the assistance of the Jewish Agency. [31] A memorial stone has been erected to Cohen in the Garden of the Missing Soldiers in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem. They were caught spying for Israel in 1953 and some of them were hanged. It could not let Syria succeed and planning a response. Still Ben-Dor, who was four years old when her father was killed, said she was pleasantly surprised by actor Cohens portrayal. In 1954, Egyptian authorities arrested Eli for being a terror suspect. [6] Cohen spoke five languages fluently. [7], In January 1965, Syrian officials, who used Soviet-made tracking equipment and were assisted by Soviet experts, increased their efforts to find a high-level spy. Cohen was publicly hanged in the Marjeh Square in Damascus on 18 May 1965. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? He was tortured, but he wouldnt give away any incriminating information about Israel. The complete trust Cohen enjoyed among his unwitting informants is illustrated by the following incident, which might have serious consequences for the Israeli agents. The Ba'athist coup and Eli Cohen's role. He says the spies wanted him to try and talk to his father's close friends or provide insight. Nadia and 'Mossad' were on bad terms until Meir Dagan was made the agencys chief. And much of the credit for Israels ability to capture the Golan was due to Eli Cohen, Israels greatest spy. Eli has been honored as an Israeli national hero, and many streets and neighborhoods have been named after him. Hes a trusted friend.. According to al-Gamal's version, he saw a photograph in an Arab newspaper at a newspaper stand in Frankfurt's train station that showed Amin Kamel Thabet touring fortifications on the Golan Heights with Syrian officers. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen heads to Germany Tuesday as part of Israel's campaign to halt Iran's . Cohen was born in 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt to a devout Mizrahi Jewish and Zionist family. What is perhaps most amazing about Eli Cohen is that he was genuinely liked even loved by so many of the top Syrian leaders. [8] His most famous achievement was the tour of the Golan Heights in which he collected intelligence on the Syrian fortifications there. His captors later remarked on his noble bearing and his courage despite the horrific Syrian interrogation methods. Where Is Nadia Cohen Now? The Spy is streaming globally on Netflix. Eli Cohen was first sent to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to establish his cover as a Syrian emigre. In early 1961, Chaim Herzog, Chief of Military Intelligence and later president of Israel, signed the document authorizing Cohens use as a spy. The TV film 'The Impossible Spy' (1987) chronicled Eli's life. In January 1965, Syrian security officers broke into Elis apartment while he was in the middle of his escape to Israel. The border with Syria was heating up as well. After his execution, a white parchment filled with anti-Zionist writing was put on his body, and he was left hanging for six hours. Cohen (Sacha Baron Cohen) was the kind of guy to leave his wife spontaneous love letters throughout the house. They had three childrenSophie, Irit, and Shaiand the family settled in Bat Yam. According to his fictional biography, in 1948 the family moved to Argentina, where they opened a successful textile business. Kamal Amin Taabets (Eli Cohen) return to Syria would ostensibly be the fulfillment of a lifelong patriotic dream. "Soon after, my commanding officers summoned me to my base and informed me that Eli had spoken to them about the phone number incident. The text messages between Khalid and the NZSIS. She had no idea about Elis secret mission and thus did not see the threats and risks involved. Cohen expressed fear of discovery to the Mossad on his last secret visit to Israel in November 1964, and he stated that he wished to terminate his assignment in Syria. Eli Cohen was born in Egypt in 1924 to Jewish parents, who had migrated to Alexandria from Syria. [18], Cohen made repeated visits to the southern frontier zone, providing photographs and sketches of Syrian positions. Out of fear of being caught, Eli expressed his wish to visit Israel in November 1964, to pass on information and also witness the birth of his third child. he soon became a well-known figure in the Arab circle. "- From Eli Cohen's last letter to his wife Nadia and his children, written an hour before his execution in Damascus. Look after them, raise them up and educate them well, and don't deprive them or yourself of anything. In the 1987 TV movie 'The Impossible Spy,' Michal Bat-Adam portrayed Nadia, while in the 2019 'Netflix' series 'The Spy,' Hadar Ratzon-Rotem played her, with Sacha Baron Cohen as Eli. Get email notification for articles from Yossi Melman, Reproduction of an Israeli stamp being issued to honour the Mossad intelligence agency spy Eli Cohen who was hanged in Damascus. He arrived in Israel on February 8, 1957. World leaders, wealthy individuals, the Israeli government, the pope, and others all intervened on his behalf. Nadia (born Nadia Majald) is an Iraqi Jew who got married to Eli on August 31, 1959. He sent intelligence to Israel by radio, secret letters, and occasionally in person; he secretly traveled to Israel three times. He genuinely fit into life in the Syrian capital, and he was never suspected of being a spy until almost the very end. "I was cooperating with the New Zealand Secret Intelligence Service, in cooperation with the Mossad, in order to help find the remains of the Israeli spy Eli Cohen," he said. After several days, Eli got a new identity as. It went wrong, really wrong," he said. References ^ Eli Cohen Knesset ^ Eli Cohen Ministry of Economy and Industry ^ Kulanu list Central Elections Committee "Sophie's. When the Baath took power in 1963, Eli was firmly entrenched in Syrian high society. The Syrians have consistently refused to do so. Nadia Majald, and together they had three children. Intelligence created a completely new identity for him. He carefully cultivated contacts with the Baath leadership, which included the Syrian military attach in Argentina, General Amin al-Hafaz. Its waters flow into the Sea of Galilee (the Kinneret) and south to the Dead Sea. [19] He also learned of a secret plan to create three successive lines of bunkers and mortars; the Israel Defense Forces would otherwise have expected to encounter only a single line. your father and uncle opened a textile store, but it went bankrupt your father died in 1956 and six months later your mother died too. He was supposed to stay in Buenos Aires as a Syrian migr businessman named Kamal Amin Taabet. After the Israel Independence War In 1954, the British pull out of Egypt completely. He was also allowed to write a final letter to his wife. Saif calmly replied, Theres nothing to worry about. He also held parties at his home, which turned into orgies for high-placed Syrian ministers, businessmen, and others, who used Elis apartment for assignations with various women, including Defense Ministry secretaries, airline hostesses, and Syrian singing stars. At these parties such highly-placed officials would talk freely of their work and army plans. The transmissions became longer as well. Nadia, understandably, has remained fixated on her loss. Still, the memory of those domestic joys sustains Cohen while hes away. At Kfar Habad, on July 29, 1977, at the joint Bar Mitzvah for 100 fatherless boys, in the presence of Prime Minister. The newly appointed Syrian intelligence colonel, Ahmed Su'edani, disliked Eli. He even trained at the same facility that had served as home to his doomed Susannah compatriots in 1953. He returned to Egypt in 1956 but was suspected immediately and was placed under surveillance. As the Syrian Army officer explained to Eli the fortifications the Syrian Army had built, Eli suggested that the Syrians plant trees there to deceive the Israelis into thinking it was unfortified, as well as to provide shade and beauty for the soldiers stationed there. love of country, sacrifice and about his life and my life, my children." . Irit does not know her father. In a February 2006 interview with Jewish Magazine, Maurice Cohen said that he informed his brother that he knew he was "our man in Damascus" in an intriguing way, rather than outright confronting him as seen in The Spy. Using Biton, Israel "fed" Egypt with false intelligence that reportedly contributed to the Six Day War victory. These skills were instrumental in ensuring the safety and survival of one Kamal Amin Taabet: Eli Cohens new identity. In 1957, Eli joined the Israel Defense Forces as a counterintelligence analyst and later applied for the Israeli intelligence agency 'Mossad,' which rejected him. Israel desperately tried to have his sentence commuted, and despite requests from world leaders and Pope Paul VI for clemency, Cohen was hanged publicly in May of that year. According to the report, Mossad agents were on their way to Auckland, with one text saying: "Wait for our partners to arrive before making a decision.". [28] The press announced on 5 July 2018 that Cohen's wristwatch had been retrieved from Syria. the plan was doomed from staring, one of the bombs exploded in the pocket of Philip Natanson and was arrested by police and other members were caught in the following days. He was promised support in any venture he might wish to undertake, and the generous sums of cash which he appeared to possess appealed to the unscrupulous who thought he could provide grease to their financial ambitions, as well as patriotic Syrians who hoped for an infusion of foreign capital into the Syrian state. Nadia Cohen attempted to appeal for clemency at the Syrian Embassy in Paris but was turned away. The condom was used as a timing tool for mixed chemicals and produce a minor burst of fire. Before he was executed, Cohen met with a rabbi, as per his request, and sent his wife a letter. On the day of his execution, his last wish to see a rabbi was respected by the prison authorities, and Nissim Indibo, the elderly Chief Rabbi of Syria, accompanied him in the truck. He was caught and sentenced to death. He was quickly able to infiltrate the highest levels of Syrian society. "It works with a range of international intelligence agencies,'' the NZSIS said in response. Employment was not always steady, and he soon had to rely more on Nadia to help support their marriage, which would quickly lead to children. Today, one can see the former Syrian bunkers that remain on the Golan Heights from 1967 (as well as the tanks from 1973). [7] He took part in various Israeli covert operations in the country during the 1950s, although the Egyptian government could never prove his involvement in Operation Goshen, an Israeli operation to smuggle Egyptian Jews out of the country and resettle them in Israel due to increasing hostility in Egypt. It hurt. I want him (Yossi Cohen) to clarify what hapepned," said the 84-year-old. [9], In 1959, he married Nadia Majald, born circa 1935,[10] an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant and the sister of author Sami Michael. He would also lend money to government officials, and many came to him for advice. I don't want to go to my death longing for my Eli to rest in the soil of the land that he loved and for which he gave his life. She once called her children and four grandchildren to her home in Herzliya, clicked a photo of them together, and sent it to Assad, congratulating him on the birth of his son, Bashar. In Episode 5, Maurice puts the clues together when he covers for the regular analyst that communicates with Cohen using Morse code. Following Israel's independence in 1949, when Jewish families were leaving Egypt, Eli stayed back to finish his electronics degree. He made friends with many of the guests and ended up receiving classified military briefings and visiting Syrian military sites. Since then, Nadia has always counted on him. "I want to ask wasn't Eli worth the price? He is being executed according to the two articles 158 and 159 of the military penal code, and articles 271, 272, and 274 of the general penal code. Nine months later, in late 1961, Eli came back to Israel for a visit with his wife Nadia. [12], He was then given a false identity as a Syrian businessman who was returning to the country after living in Argentina. children: Irit Cohen, Shai Cohen, Sophie Cohen Born Country: Egypt Spies Israeli Men Died on: May 18, 1965 place of death: Al Marjeh Square, Damascus, Syria Notable Alumni: Cairo Farouk University Cause of Death: Executed By Hanging City: Alexandria, Egypt More Facts Recommended Lists: Israeli Celebrities Male Spies Israeli Spies Capricorn Men His parents, Syrian Jews from the thriving town of Aleppo, had always instilled in their educationally minded son the traditions of the Jewish people, of Zionism, and of the culture of Syrias Jewish community, in particular.. Last Friday marked the 53rd anniversary of the execution of Eli Cohen, the Egyptian-born Israeli spy who burrowed his way so deep into the Syrian state apparatus he nearly came to head it. To no avail. Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen (Hebrew: , Arabic: ; 6 December 1924 18 May 1965), commonly known as Eli Cohen, was an Egyptian-born Israeli spy. But his knowledge of. Later, visiting his sister-in-law, Cohen's wife Nadia, he notices that she has a brand new Singer sewing machine in her home. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Eli Cohen was the man for the job. In the 1970s, they left Israel for Germany and in 1982, al-Gamal, alias Jacques Biton, died of an illness. Our website uses cookies to improve your experience. [8], Israel's secret police recruited a sabotage unit of Jewish Egyptian citizens in 1955 which attempted to undermine Egypt's relationships with western powers in the "Lavon Affair". [16][17] Mossad had carefully planned the tactics that he was to use in building relationships with high-ranking Syrian politicians, military officials, influential public figures, and the diplomatic community. This coincided with the continuance of Palestinian terrorist infiltrators arriving from the Syrian border, along with a continual flow of Soviet technical assistance to Syria. I hope, pray, that he will be returned home by the time I die," Nadia told Haaretz in 2010. "This cooperation brings significant benefits to New Zealand's national security, we help them (Mossad), and they help us," they added. It was hard to see the distance from the truth in some parts of the series, Sophie Ben-Dor said in an interview with Channel 12 news. Al-Gamal rushed to inform his superiors that Thabet was none other than Eli Cohen, the Alexandrian Jew. [5] He studied at Cairo Farouk University. From the creation of Israel through, the present day, Syria has been one, if not the most, implacable of Israels enemies.
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