In March 1963, General Hafez, Eli's friend was appointed minister of defense in salah Al-Birat's cabinet. Despite this, however, Israeli intelligence asked him to return to Syria one more time. This helped the army win the Six-Day War and capture the Golan Heights. 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. One of the more famous aspects of his spying regarded a trip he took to the Golan Heights. [7] Cohen is married, has four children and lives in Holon. In early 1964, Eli was able to radio Tel Aviv that the channel was being dug along the entire length of the Syrian Heights to receive the diverted flow of the Baniyas River - one of the Jordans major sources - and empty into Jordanian territory. Eli carefully spelled out all the details of the project and passed them on to Israeli Intelligence. He did not object, in fact, to the idea of a ladies man reputation. The Syrian project to divert water from the headwaters of the Jordan away from Israel was mentioned already in the above introduction. After some months, Abdel Latif Hassan introduces Eli to General Amin El-Hafez, the military attache at the embassy. Eli's second instructor Yehuda taught him how to use a small, sophisticated radio transmitter. To no avail. On May 15, 1965, Eli wrote a final letter to Nadia, requesting her not to mourn his death and stating that she should hold her head high, as her husband had done nothing wrong. But even after four decades, there are still many questions related to the Eli Cohen affair, some minor, others major - among them, the way in which Syrian counterintelligence identified the Israeli spy. The 2019 'Netflix' miniseries 'The Spy' had actor Sacha Baron Cohen portraying Eli. Eventually, they had three children: Sophie Ben-Dor, Irit Peleg, and Shai Cohen. Nadia and 'Mossad' were on bad terms until Meir Dagan was made the agencys chief. Periodically Eli would return to Israel to speak with his Israeli handlers and visit his wife and small children. The husband hunters among the Damascus rich and influential flocked to the handsome Taabet, hoping that their almond eyes, Byzantine beauty, and olive skin would secure a future of wealth and power: He became the most sought-after bachelor in the Syrian capital. At this time the Ba'ath Party was illegal in Syria but the party seized power in 1963. 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. Fiyaz Mughal,Eli Cohens body must be returned to Israel, The JC, (Undated). Thats when he met Nadia Majald, an Iraqi-born Jewish woman who lived near his brother and his wife. Cohen immigrated to Israel in 1957 and was recruited by Military Intelligence, to a unit that later became part of the Mossad. After three months, Eli spoke passable Spanish, knew Buenos Aires well, dressed, and behaved like thousands of Arab immigrants living in Buenos Aires. The unit bombed unoccupied American and British installations, expecting that this would be considered the work of Egyptians. Cohen was convicted of espionage. Elis larger-than-life persona has attracted many filmmakers, who have then used his story for their projects. 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. [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. It is for these reasons Eli Cohen is known as Israels greatest spy. Cohen later. By 1960, however, Israeli Intelligence was ready to take another look at Eli Cohen. 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.". [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. Thanks". His graduate report stated that he had all the qualities needed to become a katsa, or field agent. The message was passed on to the Syrians, who arrested Cohen. 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. [7][9], Israel staged an international campaign for clemency, hoping to persuade the Syrians not to execute him. [34], The Israeli settlement Eliad on the Golan Heights is named for him.[35]. "I have passed your response to our partners and am waiting for a reply," said the agent. I send you my last kisses to you and to the children: Sophie, Irit, and Shaoul, and to the rest of my family, especially my mother. Eli was, however, persuaded continuously by Israeli intelligence agencies to return to Syria. Cohen wasnt allowed tell anyone of the plans and told his wife that he was working abroad for Israels Defense Ministry. one after the other 69 people were arrested. For a while, Cohen tried his hand at civilian life. 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. Its unfamiliar to me, this form of expression in a global television series. On January 24, 1965, Syrian intelligence broke into his home in the middle of a transmission. 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 Thus, he wished to terminate his assignment in Syria. He made friends who moved in highly influential Syrian circles, transmitting his findings back to Israel via radio. Sacha Baron Cohen-led limited series "The Spy" which comes out today on Netflix tells the true story of how famed Israeli Mossad agent Eli Cohen went undercover in 1960s Syria. Nadia wishes to be buried beside Elis grave. I had gotten under his cover," said Maurice Cohen. In January 1965, Syrian government officials announced that Eli is an Israeli spy. 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. References ^ Eli Cohen Knesset ^ Eli Cohen Ministry of Economy and Industry ^ Kulanu list Central Elections Committee Registering also lets you comment on articles and helps us improve your experience. Nevertheless, Kamal Amin Taabet (Eli Cohen) succeeded in visiting every position. He was convicted in a trial without a defense and sentenced to death. One of them was Colonel Amin al-Hafaz, a supporter of the secular-leftist Baath party. The execution was broadcast on Syrian television. On May 18, 1965, Eli was publicly hanged at the Marjeh Square in Damascus, Syria. Cohen was arrested in January 1965 while transmitting to his handlers. After a few months, Eli was visited by George Salem Seif, a radio show host in charge of radio Damascus broadcast for Syrian abord. They had a son, Daniel, and after the Six Day War they celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. But Sophie was born without seeing his father. A year later your sister dies.in 1947 all of you arrived in Argentina. 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. He was a legend," I declare. Once Cohen had established his background, he was inserted into the "target country," Syria, and operated with great success for four years until his capture. Nadia still holds a grudge against the 'Mossad' handlers who had sent Eli to Syria, an action that had taken him away from her, forever. Still, the memory of those domestic joys sustains Cohen while hes away. Some attributed this to a sense of cockiness (despite the fears he had expressed in November 1964), due to the ability and ease he had moved about in the highest echelons of Syrian power. He escaped punishment due to lack of evidence. Nadia (born Nadia Majald) is an Iraqi Jew who got married to Eli on August 31, 1959. The president was ousted from power a year later in 1966. She had no idea about Elis secret mission and thus did not see the threats and risks involved. How is it that you dare allow a stranger to read a classified document? he angrily asked Saif. Scheffeldt said that her husband never revealed his true identity, and she learned of it only after a television series aired in Egypt that described him as a national hero. On January 25, 2000, Nadia presented a picture of a new postage stamp with Elis face, to Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, honoring her husband. For two weeks Cohen was put under surveillance and was judged suitable for recruitment and training. Using Biton, Israel "fed" Egypt with false intelligence that reportedly contributed to the Six Day War victory. children: Irit Cohen, Shai Cohen, Sophie Cohen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxhaPGREa74. They married in 1959, a month after meeting, and had three children together. Ben-Dor was pessimistic that Israel would soon be able to retrieve her fathers body from Syria. Eli expressed his fear and wish to terminate his assignment in Syria during his last visit to Israel in November 1964. In February 2007, the Turkish government offered to act as a mediator for their return. In 1959, he married Nadia Majald, born circa 1935, [10] an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant and the sister of author Sami Michael. In November 1965, Eli's wife wrote to Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad, requesting him to send Elis remains back to Israel. He was hanged on May 18, 1965. 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.". Eli Cohen was the man for the job. He worked as an accountant and translator. Nadia was told that Eli was working for the ministry of defense and would be completely safe. Israel attacked the project serval time later they abandon the project in 1965. Egyptian authorities uncovered the spy ring and sentenced two of the members to death. He ultimately complied. At the same time, Israeli officials devised escape schemes and appealed to international organizations. [5] He studied at Cairo Farouk University. He made friends with many of the guests and ended up receiving classified military briefings and visiting Syrian military sites. He died in 2009. For more than 50 years, Nadia has fought to have her husbands body returned to Israel. The information he had been providing them for years was too good to forego. Spy Eli Cohen Wife Love Story, American History Has Been Whitewashed, But, Black Teen Girls On TV Are A Mess Finally. Eli was caught in the act and there was nothing he could do. 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. 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. These skills were instrumental in ensuring the safety and survival of one Kamal Amin Taabet: Eli Cohens new identity. Syria has not even disclosed the location of Eli's grave. The highly vigilant Russian security experts, equipped with very sensitive technical intelligence-gathering equipment, pinpointed the source of the transmissions in the Syrian capital and it was Elis home. [9], In 1959, he married Nadia Majald, born circa 1935,[10] an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant and the sister of author Sami Michael. After weeks of surveillance, he was finalized and was put to training. they let him see fortification and the bunkers, weapon concentrated in the area, and their offensive plans.l lieutenant. Nadia Cohen attempted to appeal for clemency at the Syrian Embassy in Paris but was turned away. Cohen was born and raised in Egypt and was expelled to Israel in 1956. They warned me not to discuss the issue with Eli anymore and to share his secret with no one.". 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. In The Spy, based on the true story of Israeli agent Eli Cohen, comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen takes on a serious role, playing the title character. Eli Cohen was first sent to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to establish his cover as a Syrian emigre. She has pleaded for years and is still waiting to receive Eli's body. 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. 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. The following year, Syria found out about Cohen by tracing his intelligence transmissions to Israel. 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. His captors later remarked on his noble bearing and his courage despite the horrific Syrian interrogation methods. 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. His family is now settled in Bat Yam. I hope, pray, that he will be returned home by the time I die," Nadia told Haaretz in 2010. In 1960, the national intelligence agency of Israel, 'Mossad,' approached Eli for a classified mission in Syria. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Eli visited other Arab friends as Abdel Latif Hassan and his briefcase was full of enthusiastic letters of recommendation. become close friends. 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. - From Eli Cohen's last letter to his wife Nadia and his children, written an hour before his execution in Damascus. Eli Cohen's daughter Sofia Ben-Dor was excited about it because that is all they have. He was driven to the airport, where his wife Nadia saw him off. Already a member? The crime of obtaining secret information is kept hidden to ensure the safety of the country to benefit the enemy. Due to this information, the Israeli Air Force was able to obliterate the Syrian plans for the diversion scheme by shelling and bombing the bulldozers and other equipment used for the scheme in early 1964. So now we have a request. Syria brought hydraulic engineers and diversion equipment to actualize the scheme. 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. [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. After several days, Eli got a new identity as Kamal Amin Tablet, son of Syrian parents, born in Beirut. "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." Meanwhile, every few days he transmitted important information to his Israeli handlers via a radio transmitter he had hidden in his room. in Israel, he found the job of translating weekly and monthly magazines for a man after a few months he was fired. They had three children, Sophie, Irit, and Shai. 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. For 19 years, Jewish settlements in the north were under constant threat of Syrian guns. He was caught and sentenced to death. The Kinneret supplies Israel with most of its water needs. Eli was friends with two highly placed Army officers, Colonels Hatoum and Dali, who were fully informed about the scheme. One of the ministrys directors entered the room unannounced. He was sent to Argentina, where he took on the guise of a businessman, scion of a Syrian family. The actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has a . They observed a period of radio silence, in the hope that any illegal transmissions could be identified. While working as an intelligence officer offer him a job with high pay, Eli didn't say no and become a secret agent. [9] The governments of Belgium, Canada, and France tried to persuade the Syrian government to commute the death sentence,[25] but the Syrians refused. This week, KAN 11 began broadcasting a documentary series "Lochem 566," (Fighter 566, Cohen's Mossad codename). In 1963, during a business trip to Germany, he met Weltrude Scheffeldt, a divorcee, then 22 and with a small child, and married her. For the next two years, he worked as a filing clerk in a Tel Aviv insurance office. He was also allowed to write a final letter to his wife. But the intelligence officers convinced him to go back one last time. 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. Israel attacked the project serval time later they abandon the project in 1965. had succeeded in friending a Saudi entrepreneur who had been contracted to plan and dig canals, the name was his friend was bin Laden, little Osama's father. 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. In 1954, Egyptian authorities arrested Eli for being a terror suspect. Abdel Latif Hassan immediately wrote four letters one to his brother-in-law, two to friends in Beirut, and fourth to his son in Damascus. I beg you my dear Nadia do not spend your life weeping for what has passed. Sophia Cohen the 26-year-old daughter of billionaire hedge funder and Mets owner Steve Cohen is no longer engaged to her financier boyfriend Jason Levine, Page Six has confirmed. That is, until Meir Dagan took over as chief. "There was great excitement because it is essentially the only item of dad that came back, we have nothing. His wife, Nadia, would be left a widow with three very young children. their chief noticed that their decision taken by the government was broadcast to Israel. A year later, in 1965, Cohen was caught transmitting over the radio back to Tel Aviv. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 26, 1924, the second of eight children in a family of orthodox Jews. His new friends introduced Eli to top government officials, senior army officers, and leaders of the ruling party. Israels defense planners urgently needed reliable intelligence on the scope of the water diversion project engineering plans, diagrams, maps, and other data and up-to-the-minute assessments of Soviet influence in the Syrian capital, as well as detailed information on plans for the modernization, equipping, and retraining of Syrian forces. Eli Cohen was the man for the job. 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. On 18 May 1965, Eli cohen was woken by the jailer and fastened the noose, and hang up, the huge poster was fastened on his chest where his sentence was written in Arabic.Even today Syria refuses to return his body for burial in Israel. From 1948 until 1967, Syria firing mortar shells from the Syrian occupied Golan Heights into the Jewish settlements of the Upper Galilee below. In 2019, Netflix created the seriesThe SpystarringSacha Baron Cohen to tell his story. Likud MK Eli Cohen Federation of Local Authorities conference in Tel Aviv, December 8, 2022. I give you my blessing. Once registered, youll receive our Daily Edition email for free. Please try again or choose an option below. Eli did go back to Syria, but his behavior changed. Intelligence officers who investigated the issue offered two possibilities: The first is that it was Egyptian intelligence that identified Cohen and gave him up to the Syrians; the second, which is considered more probable, is that the demand for information was so great that frequent communications via radio to Mossad headquarters exposed Cohen to Syrian counterintelligence. It, however, did not change the situation. On his last visit, in 1964, he told intelligence officers he wanted to come in from the cold because he was concerned a new Syrian intelligence commander did not like him. According to Maurice Cohen, this really happened. "Their ages range from four and a half to 32." "You must be very proud," I offer. [8] His most famous achievement was the tour of the Golan Heights in which he collected intelligence on the Syrian fortifications there. Sacha Baron Cohen in 'The Spy' as Eli Cohen. Even after the blown operation led to the demise of the Operation Susannah spies, Eli Cohen left Egypt for Israel to undergo intensive espionage training in the summer of 1955. Cohen accepted the calling. 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. They married in 1959, a month after meeting, and had three children together. Israel has had a quiet northern border on the Golan with the exception of some occasional fallout from the Syrian civil war for more than 40years. According to Scheffeldt, al-Gamal wrote in his memoirs of his friendship with Marcelle Ninio, who was sentenced to four years in prison for her role in the Jewish Underground, and also about Eli Cohen. Israel's minister of defense Pinhas Lavon and colonel Benyamin Gibli head of military intelligence, concocted a dangerous and foolish plan if several terrorist bombings were swept Egypt, the British will return to its former bases and concluded that Egypt's couldn't maintain law and order. try to make as many friends as possible, and establish contact with Arab leaders. The leading figure in the break-in was the head of Syrian Intelligence, Colonel Ahmed Suedani Elis nemesis. The melting winter snows produce a huge run-off of water which makes the Golan a beautifully verdant area in the late winter and spring and irrigates the Hula and Jordan Valleys below. In his late teens, Cohen became an ardent Zionist and at the same time, as .
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