His first assignment was to infiltrate the Jewish community of Alexandria. His remains have yet to be returned, despite pleas from his family. With senior staff officers acting as guides, Eli Cohen was provided an in-depth intelligence briefing of monumental proportions. They even photographed Eli on the Golan Heights, looking over into Israel, alongside the most high-ranking Syrian officers. One of the most difficult tasks for Eli Cohen was to learn the intricate and unmistakable phonetic tune of Syrian Arabic; prior to his intelligence training, his Egyptian accent was undeniable. His trainer was an Iraqi-born Jew who had extensive experience training operatives in speaking Arabic and the traditions and Muslim customs. World leaders, wealthy individuals, the Israeli government, the pope, and others all intervened on his behalf. A number were only released 14 years later, after the 1967 War. But in 1965, he was unmasked. He did not object, in fact, to the idea of a ladies man reputation. In November that year, Nadia, wrote to Syrian politician and former president of Syria (19712000) Hafez al-Assad, asking him to forgive Eli and requesting him to hand over her husbands remains. Cohen's widow, Nadia, said that following the report she appealed directly to Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, demanding answers as to why the deal did not go through. In November 1964, Tel Dan Syria open fire on Israel tractors in the demilitarized zone. Eli Cohen - Wikipedia [7], Following state-sponsored anti-Semitic attacks on its Jewish communities, many of them fled or were expelled, and Cohen was forced to leave the country in December 1956. Syria tortures him but he was still lying, his face was covered with wounds, his nail was pulled out. At the same time, Israeli officials devised escape schemes and appealed to international organizations. In February 1961 one man handed him an Israeli passport in his real name and a plane ticket to Zurich.on his arrival, Eli was met by a white-haired man who gave him a passport from another name, that passport carried an entry visa to chile and a transit visa to Argentina. He then underwent a show trial, like the Operation Susannah spies had in Egypt 12 years before., Like them, his verdict was predetermined. Even today Syria refuses to return his body for burial in Israel. 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 They warned me not to discuss the issue with Eli anymore and to share his secret with no one.". But his knowledge of. He became a confidante of George Saif, high up in the Ministry of Information. 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. Look after them, raise them up and educate them well, and don't deprive them or yourself of anythingDo what you must, don't deprive the children of a father. For a while, Cohen tried his hand at civilian life. So now we have a request. He was hanged on May 18, 1965. Eli Cohen was first sent to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to establish his cover as a Syrian emigre. . Also in Episode 5, viewers see Hafiz assume power after demanding the resignation of Syria's then-president, Nazim al-Qudsi. One day they took Eli to visit the Syrian positions along Israel's border. He was quickly able to infiltrate the highest levels of Syrian society. Because of that, perhaps he just tired of the whole charade. His last wish was to see a rabbi. Hence, Nissim Andabo, the elderly chief rabbi of Syria accompanied him to Marjeh Square.. Since 1992, the Golan has been up for discussion in the peace talks, but it strikes a very emotional chord among Israelis due to its historic and strategic significance, in addition to its natural beauty. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Israeli ambassador, Itzhak Gerberg, would not comment on the report. When the Baath took power in 1963, Eli was firmly entrenched in Syrian high society. Meanwhile, every few days he transmitted important information to his Israeli handlers via a radio transmitter he had hidden in his room. [31] A memorial stone has been erected to Cohen in the Garden of the Missing Soldiers in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem. The Spy, a six-part Netflix miniseries about Cohen's life, showcases the legendary Mossad agent's relationship with his wife, Nadia (Hadar Ratzon Rotem). "Sophie's. He was sentenced to death. [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. The execution was broadcast on Syrian television. Revealed: The Plan to Expand the Israeli Knesset by More Than Double, Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved. The new Ba'ath government initially installed Lu'ay al-Atassi as president in March 1963. He genuinely fit into life in the Syrian capital, and he was never suspected of being a spy until almost the very end. Eli Cohen - Jewish Virtual Library . Cohen would then send intelligence back to Israel using a hidden radio transmitter. In Episode 5, Maurice puts the clues together when he covers for the regular analyst that communicates with Cohen using Morse code. [27] Syrian authorities have repeatedly denied family requests for the remains. He arrived in Israel on February 8, 1957. In early 1961, Chaim Herzog, Chief of Military Intelligence and later president of Israel, signed the document authorizing Cohens use as a spy. Cohen was arrested in January 1965 while transmitting to his handlers. Double Agent's Widow Offers New Take on Eli Cohen Affair 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.. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? The daughter of legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen said Sunday it hurt to watch the new Netflix series about her fathers life and execution in Syria, lamenting some historical inaccuracies in the adaptation but praising Sacha Baron Cohens performance. She smiles. In February 2007, a Turkish official assured assistance to Eli's family to get back his body. In January 1965, Syrian government officials announced that Eli is an Israeli spy. If you've already watched all of The Spy and are curious to know more about Cohen, then these accounts of the real-life Cohen might make for curious reading. [9], Syria refused to return Cohen's body to his family in Israel, and his wife Nadia sent a letter to Amin al-Hafiz in November 1965 asking his forgiveness for Cohen's actions and requesting his remains. He reminded me of my father sometimes, she added. Despite her criticism of the series, Ben-Dor said she understood why the shows creators took artistic license with her fathers story. 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. Registering also lets you comment on articles and helps us improve your experience. But within a month he had lost his Tel Aviv-based accountancy job. Eli's wife Nadia, played by Hadar Ratzon Rotem, has to deal with raising two children without her husband, who disappears for up to a year at a time without being allowed to tell her what he's actually doing or even where he is. In 1951, he was arrested and interrogated over his Jewish and Zionist activities that he was carrying out under the tutelage of Alexandria's chief rabbi. He had also participated in various Israeli furtive operations in the country during the 1950s. The Syrian project to divert water from the headwaters of the Jordan away from Israel was mentioned already in the above introduction. From 1961 to 1965, Eli transmitted crucial intelligence data, including that of the Golan Heights, to the Israeli army. Eli was brutally tortured and interrogated before he was publicly hanged on May 18, 1965, at the Marjeh Square in Damascus. In 1957, Eli joined the Israel Defense Forces as a counterintelligence analyst and later applied for the Israeli intelligence agency 'Mossad,' which rejected him. Eli Cohen's son, Shaul, was only 2 weeks old when he last saw his father. As a young adult, he worked within Egypt to secretly assist other Egyptian Jews in emigrating to Israel. It was after Atassi resigned on July 27 that Hafiz was named president. Unfortunately, Nadia and her family are still waiting to get Elis body and have not made peace with it. Why Mossad's Retrieval of Eli Cohen's Watch Matters - SOFREP [13][14] In Buenos Aires he moved among the Arab community, letting it be known he had large amounts of money to put at the disposal of the Syrian Ba'ath Party. The six-part drama about Israeli spy Eli Cohen has gripped viewers and critics alike with its pulse-racing tale of espionage and a deceptively good dramatic performance by Sacha Baron Cohen, better known for his comedy work, as the Mossad agent. During their exchange, Cohen signs off by asking, "Did N get the Singer?" He was interrogated and tortured. In addition, the commander of Syrian Intelligence, Colonel Ahmed Suedani trusted no one and disliked Eli. 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. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/eli-cohen-16869.php. "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 Syria's Jewish community, in particular." But what happened next apparently deviates from the way it appears in the show. In 'The Spy,' Sacha Baron Cohen Gets Serious : NPR Incorrect password. In August 2008, Assad's former bureau chief, Monthir Maosily, revealed that Eli had been buried thrice and that Israel would never receive his body. He died in 2009. Cohen immigrated to Israel in 1957 and was recruited by Military Intelligence, to a unit that later became part of the Mossad. I hope, pray, that he will be returned home by the time I die," Nadia told Haaretz in 2010. Khalid al-Hafidh, a Syrian migrant living in Auckland, claims to be the son Amin al-Hafiz, a Syrian leader who presided over the country during Cohen's execution and his subsequent secret burial. He then moved to Damascus in February 1962, under his new identity, Kamel Amin Thaabet, to extract classified information from Syrian military officers. In 1965, the Syrian secret service was on high alert. Eli Cohen was the man for the job. Learn more. Eli Cohenalso learned to identify the type and age of tanks, aircraft, and cannons. In 2016, Nadia told 'Israel Radio' that former 'Mossad' chief Meir Dagan had asked the US officials to help bring Elis remains. I was more worried, Ben-Dor said of hearing that Cohen, who is known for playing comedic figures such as Borat, would star in the series. They successfully detected radio transmissions and were able to triangulate the transmitter. Kamal Amin Taabet (also called Tabas in some sources) was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Syrian Muslim parents. The text messages between Khalid and the NZSIS. 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. A New Zealander claiming to the son of a former Syrian president, says he knows the whereabouts of the executed Israeli spy's remains, according to a report on New Zealand news service Newshub on Sunday. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/nadia-cohen-46980.php. 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. At the end of 1961, Syria dissolved its union with Egypt, which had lasted a mere three years. The alleged son says the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) contacted him two years ago believing he has clues to the secret location, which his father had apparently taken to the grave. he goes abroad for business and meets Nadia and Sophie in Bat Yam. Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Chief of Staff Mordechai Gur, Defense Minister Ezer Weizmann, and many Mossad officials attended Eli's son's bar mitzvah in 1977. The daughter of legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen said Sunday "it hurt" to watch the new Netflix series about her father's life and execution in Syria, lamenting some historical inaccuracies in. The president was ousted from power a year later in 1966. There is always the risk that the agent remains loyal to his original handlers and has managed to fool his new bosses. The unit bombed unoccupied American and British installations, expecting that this would be considered the work of Egyptians. The Golan Heights defenses were top-secret and closed only to top military staff. The execution was recorded on 35mm film. [4], Cohen provided an extensive amount and wide range of intelligence data for the Israeli Army between 1961 and 1965. In January 1965, Syrian security services broke into Eli's apartment, where he was caught while he was escaping to Israel. The TV film 'The Impossible Spy' (1987) chronicled Eli's life. Cohen would pretend to be drunk to encourage such conversations, to which he paid close attention. After a few months, Eli was visited by George Salem Seif, a radio show host in charge of radio Damascus broadcast for Syrian abord. On January 24, 1965, Syrian intelligence broke into his home in the middle of a transmission. Steve Cohen's daughter Sophia splits from fianc - Page Six Eli Cohen was an Egyptian-born Israeli spy best known for his espionage work in the 1960s in Syria, where it was alleged he developed close relationships with the Syrian political and military. [26], Monthir Maosily, the former bureau chief of Hafez Al-Assad, claimed in August 2008 that the Syrians had buried him three times to stop the remains from being taken back to Israel via a special operation. As depicted in Episodes 4 and 5 of The Spy, Cohen aligns with Hafiz and the Ba'ath political party to overthrow the reigning government of Syria in March 1963. Syrian counterintelligence eventually uncovered the spy conspiracy and convicted Cohen under pre-war martial law, sentencing him to death and hanging him publicly in 1965. You're not alone. Speaking to Cohen's brother, and to Israeli and Syrian intelligence experts, Sputnik has pieced together a new look at the superspy's incredible life story. Sign in to stop seeing this, Sara Netanyahu accosted by protesters at Tel Aviv hair salon, extricated by police, Brides joy turns to sorrow after Elan Ganeles killed driving to her wedding, Hiker discovers 2,500-year-old ancient receipt from reign of Purim kings father, Netanyahu compares Tel Aviv protesters to settlers who set fire to Huwara. According to Scheffeldt, Cohen and al-Gamal were arrested together in 1954 and released shortly after. Eli was caught in the act and there was nothing he could do. Al-Gamal, for his part, adopted the Jewish identity of Jacques Biton and immigrated to Israel from France on the orders of Egyptian intelligence. For a while, Cohen tried his hand at civilian life. I understand and respect [it], she said in a separate interview earlier Sunday with the network. [9], In 1959, he married Nadia Majald, born circa 1935,[10] an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant and the sister of author Sami Michael. A month later, a Syrian officer would say that one of Israel's attack architects had been Eli Cohen, who was in Israel during the battle. He has reached the apex of success, and it seems that there is no door he can't open. It hurt. Over the years, her relationship with the Mossad and that of her children, Sophie Ben-Dor, Irit Peleg and Shai Cohen, unraveled. [7][9] The Israel Defense Forces recruited him in 1957 and placed him in military intelligence, where he became a counter-intelligence analyst. Al-Hafidh claims he was in negotiations with the Mossad to reveal the information, but wanted $1million for his services which the intelligence agency refused to pay. [15], Cohen moved to Damascus in February 1962 under the alias Kamel Amin Thaabet (Arabic: ). In 2019, Netflix created the seriesThe SpystarringSacha Baron Cohen to tell his story. 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. If indeed Biton was a double agent - and Israeli intelligence prides itself on the quality of his work - then it is difficult to believe that he exposed Cohen. Nine months later, in late 1961, Eli came back to Israel for a visit with his wife Nadia. He sent intelligence to Israel by radio, secret letters, and occasionally in person; he secretly traveled to Israel three times. Using Biton, Israel "fed" Egypt with false intelligence that reportedly contributed to the Six Day War victory. She understood from him that he would be working for the Ministry of Defense, but she didnt know where or in what capacity. At the age of 41, Cohen was hanged in Damascus in front of a crowd of 10,000. Given their history of a paper trail, its fitting but heartbreaking to learn that their final exchange also took place over written correspondence. Others have attributed the carelessness to an almost suicidal tendency perhaps, it was later surmised, he had been in the undercover world too long, but knew he couldnt get out of it. Sacha Baron Cohen, the Mossad and Netflix. In the 1960s, Israel developed a national water carrier which diverted water from the Kinneret into a pipeline that irrigated much of the country and especially Israels arid south. However, running a double agent is considered to be one of the most complex missions in intelligence work. It is for these reasons Eli Cohen is known as Israels greatest spy. "I am the son of the only person on this planet who knows where the remains are buried," he told Newshub in an interview.
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