In November 1964, Tel Dan Syria open fire on Israel tractors in the demilitarized zone. Nadia Cohen, widow of executed Israeli spy Eli Cohen, speaks to Channel 2 on September 20, 2016 after Syrian opposition forces release new video showing moments after he was hanged in. In 1959, he married Nadia Majald, born circa 1935, [10] an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant and the sister of author Sami Michael. "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. Already a member? The newly appointed Syrian intelligence colonel, Ahmed Su'edani, disliked Eli. We may recall the Egyptian-Jewish spies from the Operation Susannah fiasco. He carefully cultivated contacts with the Baath leadership, which included the Syrian military attach in Argentina, General Amin al-Hafaz. But changes were taking place in the Syrian Government that alarmed Eli. Syria brought hydraulic engineers and diversion equipment to actualize the scheme. It was approved by, The head of the presidency council on 17/5/1965, Top 10 Weakest Militaries in the World | The Bahamas, Central African Republic, The Gambia,Barbados, Somalia, Luxembourg military power, MiG-29 vs. Su-27: The Soviet Union's Two Top Fighters Went Head to Head in an East African Air War, Ravindra Kaushik RAW Agent ( Black Tiger) Wife, son, Death reason, | Facts about Ravindra Kaushik | Ravindra Kaushik Movie, Israel's Iron Dome Vs S-400 Russian Comparison, Price, Success Rate | Iron Dome vs S400 which is better, Top amazing facts about RAW and Agent : History, Foundation, Joining , Department of RAW, Eli Cohen Wife, Children | Israeli Spy biography | Last Letter to his wife and Children | Eli Cohen death writing translation | george seif syria. Cohen (Sacha Baron Cohen) was the kind of guy to leave his wife spontaneous love letters throughout the house. The Ba'athist coup and Eli Cohen's role. "I want to ask wasn't Eli worth the price? Eli could watch the entrance to the Syrian government officials' guest house. Eli kept transmitting reports of a military character, top military orders, reports on new weapons to Israel. Maurice isn't sure what this means. In 1965, the Syrian secret service was on high alert. One of them was Colonel Amin al-Hafaz, a supporter of the secular-leftist Baath party. Eli was born Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen, on December 26, 1924, in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria, Egypt, into a staunch Jewish and Zionist family. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Thanks". In 1961, Eli was sent to Buenos Aires in the guise of a Syrian textile businessman. "Their ages range from four and a half to 32." "You must be very proud," I offer. Eli Cohen was born in Egypt in 1924 to Jewish parents, who had migrated to Alexandria from Syria. Eli Cohen, at 29, offered his services to the Israeli Intelligence Services but was rebuked twice. After weeks of surveillance, he was finalized and was put to training. Eli Cohenalso learned to identify the type and age of tanks, aircraft, and cannons. 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). At Kfar Habad, on July 29, 1977, at the joint Bar Mitzvah for 100 fatherless boys, in the presence of Prime Minister. To no avail. After his execution, a white parchment filled with anti-Zionist writing was put on his body, and he was left hanging for six hours. 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. He sent intelligence to Israel by radio, secret letters, and occasionally in person; he secretly traveled to Israel three times. he soon became a well-known figure in the Arab circle. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and moved to Israel in 1957. 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.". During their exchange, Cohen signs off by asking, "Did N get the Singer?" Cohen was caught and eventually executed by Syrian authorities in 1965. The Spy sees a friendship blossoming between Eli Cohen and Amin al-Hafiz, the future president of Syria, that begins as Cohen first goes undercover as Thaabet in Buenos Aires and mutually benefits them both for yearsright through to Cohen's discovery as an Israeli spy and subsequent execution. He is best known for his espionage work in 196165 in Syria, where he developed close relationships with the Syrian political and military hierarchy.[1][2][3]. On April 15, 2019, a few Israeli news agencies published unconfirmed reports of Eli's remains being recovered in Syria and stated that the remains were with a Russian delegation. At first, he refused. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 26, 1924, the second of eight children in a family of orthodox Jews. [32], John Shea played Cohen in the television film The Impossible Spy (1987),[33] and Sacha Baron Cohen played him in the Netflix miniseries The Spy (2019). [2], A 2018 article published in Newsweek by Ronen Bergman excerpted from Bergman's book Rise and Kill First, says that Eli Cohen located Alois Brunner, a Nazi scientist suspected of living in Syria, and relayed the information to an Israel intelligence unit that later sent letter bombs to Brunner. He was hanged on May 18, 1965. In real life, the closeness between Hafiz and Cohen has been disputed by the former president of Syria, who claimed in a 2001 interview with Al Jazeera that they couldn't have met in Buenos Aires because Hafiz was in Moscow until 1962, by which time Cohen had gone undercover as Thaabet in Damascus. After several days, Eli got a new identity as. "I am the son of the only person on this planet who knows where the remains are buried," he told Newshub in an interview. [29] Mossad director Yossi Cohen presented it to Cohen's family in a ceremony, and it is currently on display at Mossad headquarters. His work bored him and he attempted to join the Mossad, but he was offended when the Mossad rejected him, and he resigned from military counter-intelligence. You're not alone. Because of that, perhaps he just tired of the whole charade. 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. Recalling Elis final days, Nadia states he was in Bat Yam, with her and the three babies. With time he was taken even more into the confidence of the highest echelons of power. In January 1965, Syrian security services broke into Eli's apartment, where he was caught while he was escaping to Israel. Last year, Israel was able to retrieve Cohens wristwatch from Syria and return it to his family. The president was ousted from power a year later in 1966. But an interview published in the Cairo Times yesterday with the German-born Weltrude Scheffeldt-Biton suggests that Egyptian intelligence played the most important role in unmasking Cohen. A number were only released 14 years later, after the 1967 War. Eli visited other Arab friends as Abdel Latif Hassan and his briefcase was full of enthusiastic letters of recommendation. Cohen immigrated to Israel in 1957 and was recruited by Military Intelligence, to a unit that later became part of the Mossad. Given their history of a paper trail, its fitting but heartbreaking to learn that their final exchange also took place over written correspondence. 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. Nadia Majald, and together they had three children. He says the spies wanted him to try and talk to his father's close friends or provide insight. The Arabs would have none of it and decided to divert the sources of the Jordan River which originated in Arab-held territory. In this way, the Arabs hoped to deprive Israel of the waters she would need for her national growth. The Israeli government and Cohens widow have for many years sought the return of Elis body. The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the. 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. Concentrate on yourself; look forward to a better future! Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 26, 1924. His last wish was to see a rabbi. Hence, Nissim Andabo, the elderly chief rabbi of Syria accompanied him to Marjeh Square.. . Eli told Nadia that he got a job with a company that works with defense and foreign ministries, he needs to travel to Europe to buy tools and equipment, and materials for Israel's military. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion, Antoni Porowski Talks New Cookbook, Recipes and Tradition in Cooking, Netflix's 'The Spy': Eli Cohen's Remains Still a Mystery, How to Watch True Crime Series 'Unbelievable' on Netflix. Hafiz ordered Cohen's execution after he was convicted of espionage in 1965. At the beginning of the 1956 War, when Israel occupied the Sinai, Eli Cohen was detained by the Egyptian authorities, and was expelled from Egypt along with the remainder of Alexandrian Jews at the end of the war. 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. In 1954, Egyptian authorities arrested Eli for being a terror suspect. 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. Cohen was arrested in January 1965 while transmitting to his handlers. [5], His parents and three brothers left for Israel in 1949, but he remained to finish a degree in electronics and coordinate Jewish and Zionist activities. The transmissions became longer as well. They had three children, Sophie, Irit, and Shai. "I beg you my dear Nadia do not spend your life weeping for what has past," his final letter read. In 1960, Cohen was approached by the Mossad for a mission in Syria. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, Cohen publicly hanged in the Marjeh Square, The Pedagogic Center, The Department for Jewish Zionist Education, The Jewish Agency for Israel, 1998 - 2023 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Did you spend your weekend binge-watching Netflix's taut thriller, The Spy? All these years, I remained faithful to him. Al-Gamal, for his part, adopted the Jewish identity of Jacques Biton and immigrated to Israel from France on the orders of Egyptian intelligence. From the creation of Israel through, the present day, Syria has been one, if not the most, implacable of Israels enemies. Please use the following structure: example@domain.com, Send me The Times of Israel Daily Edition. For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members. They had three childrenSophie, Irit, and Shaiand the family settled in Bat Yam. Eliyahu (Eli) Cohen, an Egyptian Jew, was born in Alexandria in 1924. Please try again or choose an option below. He arrived in Israel on February 8, 1957. Israel could be the target of an aggressive attack by a larger, better Egyptian army that wanted to avenge its shameful defect in the Israel Independence War. Nadia was told that Eli was working for the ministry of defense and would be completely safe. But he spent most of his time in Tel Aviv perfecting his cover and being briefed on Amans requirements of him in Syria, as well as last-minute intelligence data needed for his mission. His success in effectively penetrating the Syrian social and political/diplomatic/military strata already wildly exceeded Amans expectations of him, Cohen arrived in Damascus in February 1962, posing as a businessman from Argentina who had returned to his native land. Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen (Hebrew: , Arabic: ; 6 December 1924 18 May 1965), commonly known as Eli Cohen, was an Egyptian-born Israeli spy. The Syrian project to divert water from the headwaters of the Jordan away from Israel was mentioned already in the above introduction. The next day he comes to Hassan's office and admitted that he is sick and tired to live in Argentina, he wanted to go back to Syria, could he help him with a letter of recommendation? Eli Cohen's daughter Sofia Ben-Dor was excited about it because that is all they have. "We have six grandchildren," she says with pride as she points to a family photo on the wall. [22], It is claimed that the intelligence that Cohen gathered before his arrest was an important factor in Israel's success in the Six-Day War,[23] although some intelligence experts have argued that the information he provided about the Golan Heights fortifications was also readily available from ground and aerial reconnaissance. Cohens contacts, nurtured through a string of lavish dinner parties, social occasions, and friendships with those in high places, led to invitations to visit Damascus and to set up a business venture there. The execution was broadcast on Syrian television. Returning to Nadia is Cohens ultimate goal. After Hafez became Prime Minister, Eli was even considered to be named the Syrian Deputy Minister of Defense. He wasnt even drafted into regular service but was placed in a reserve Israeli Air Force formation as a logistics clerk. Perhaps he wasnt allowed into the security service due to his Military Intelligence evaluation some years before. Source:The Pedagogic Center, The Department for Jewish Zionist Education, The Jewish Agency for Israel, (c) 1992-2007. [27] Syrian authorities have repeatedly denied family requests for the remains. Nadia and Eli Cohen pictured in the 1960s The 41-year-old was brutally hanged in Marjeh Square in Damascus in front of a crowd of 10,000 people, in May 1965 - and despite his last request to have his body returned to Israel, the Syrian authorities have to this day never disclosed the whereabouts of his remains. I hope, pray, that he will be returned home by the time I die," Nadia told Haaretz in 2010. Warning: This article contains spoilers for all six episodes of The Spy. One of the ministrys directors entered the room unannounced. 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. She had no idea about Elis secret mission and thus did not see the threats and risks involved. This week, KAN 11 began broadcasting a documentary series "Lochem 566," (Fighter 566, Cohen's Mossad codename). Cohen's astonishing undercover career lasted for four years. 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. Qudsi was ousted from power as a result of the March 8 coup, but Hafiz did not take power until months later. ", "Sacha Baron Cohen To Star As Eli Cohen in Netflix Limited Series 'The Spy', Cohen's widow asks for his remains to be returned, PM's speech at the ceremony marking 40 years since the death of Eli Cohen, Our man in Damascus: Eli Cohen of blessed memory, Exhibition in the IDF & Defense Establishment Archives, Eli Cohen, moments after the execution (part 1), Eli Cohen, moments after the execution (part 2), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eli_Cohen&oldid=1140124388, Egyptian people convicted of spying for Israel, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles having same image on Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 15:41. Kamal Amin Tabet hosted a glamorous party in Damascus, several ministers, a large number of general and colonel, top leaders of the Baath party, businessmen.
