Meir even appealed to the Soviet Union. 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. 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. He was quickly able to infiltrate the highest levels of Syrian society. Eli Cohen, Israels most famous spy, also happened to be a hopeless romantic. It went wrong, really wrong," he said. [28] The press announced on 5 July 2018 that Cohen's wristwatch had been retrieved from Syria. He genuinely fit into life in the Syrian capital, and he was never suspected of being a spy until almost the very end. "Sophie's. The watch is now on display at the 'Mossad' headquarters. Cohen wasnt allowed tell anyone of the plans and told his wife that he was working abroad for Israels Defense Ministry. Since Eli did not have a steady job back then, even though he worked as an accountant, he had to rely more on Nadia to help support the family and their marriage. He also held parties at his home for high-placed Syrian ministers, businessmen, and others. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. And much of the credit for Israels ability to capture the Golan was due to Eli Cohen, Israels greatest spy. Today, one can see the former Syrian bunkers that remain on the Golan Heights from 1967 (as well as the tanks from 1973). they suspect on a tablet but they verify the Tibet's transmission two times at 8 am precisely they broke into the tablet home, Eli was caught red-handed in the transmission. In December 1956, the Jewish Agency assisted Eli to deport to Israel in a vessel. 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. The border with Syria was heating up as well. 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. In 1957, Eli joined the Israel Defense Forces as a counterintelligence analyst and later applied for the Israeli intelligence agency 'Mossad,' which rejected him. One day Cohen was sitting in Saifs office reading a classified document while the Syrian was on the phone. In addition, the commander of Syrian Intelligence, Colonel Ahmed Suedani trusted no one and disliked Eli. His family is now settled in Bat Yam. Eli started transmitting his message to Israel daily at 8 a.m. After six months kamal Amin tabet become well known. Cohen accepted the calling. 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. [7] Cohen is married, has four children and lives in Holon. Nadia wishes to be buried beside Elis grave. Cohen was born in 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt to a devout Mizrahi Jewish and Zionist family. Eli Cohenhad 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. I think as long as Bashar Assad is in power I dont see the word progress,' she said, referring to Syrias dictator. But his knowledge of. The drunk guests would often end up blabbing about their work to Cohen, who was sober but would pretend to be intoxicated. 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. He then underwent a show trial, like the Operation Susannah spies had in Egypt 12 years before., Like them, his verdict was predetermined. Eli could watch the entrance to the Syrian government officials' guest house. The following year, Syria found out about Cohen by tracing his intelligence transmissions to Israel. His successes couldn't be vocally shared with his family, however. He was stunned by the precision of the Israeli bombing during the 1964 attack. Al-Hafidh then sent his bank details, but the deal went cold. On May 18, 1965, Eli was publicly hanged at the Marjeh Square in Damascus, Syria. References ^ Eli Cohen Knesset ^ Eli Cohen Ministry of Economy and Industry ^ Kulanu list Central Elections Committee 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. Years later, in February 2007, a Turkish official confirmed that the government had agreed to look into the matter of returning Eli's remains to his family. He would also lend money to government officials, and many came to him for advice. Eli, after all, was born in an Arab country, had oriental features, was known to be selfless and fearless in pursuit of a cause, and had knowledge of Arabic, English, and French. 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. Nevertheless, Kamal Amin Taabet (Eli Cohen) succeeded in visiting every position. Israel could not survive without Jordan's water. Israeli intelligence was particularly excited about Cohen . In February 2007, a Turkish official assured assistance to Eli's family to get back his body. [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. One day they took Eli to visit the Syrian positions along Israel's border. Irit does not know her father. By Lianne Back. Cohen immigrated to Israel in 1957 and was recruited by Military Intelligence, to a unit that later became part of the Mossad. (Haim Zach/GPO). In February 1962, Cohen moved to Damascus. 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. The Syrian officer readily agreed and Eli immediately passed the information onto Israel. Nadia, widow of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, reacts during an interview with Reuters in Herzliya, Israel October 6, 2019. . 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. Also in Episode 5, viewers see Hafiz assume power after demanding the resignation of Syria's then-president, Nazim al-Qudsi. Eli Cohen was now a member of the inner circle of power. The Spy is streaming globally on Netflix. ", "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. Eli Cohen provided an incredible amount of intelligence data to the Israeli Army over a period of three years. Nadia and 'Mossad' were on bad terms until Meir Dagan was made the agencys chief. He would entertain high-ranking politicians and military officials at extravagant parties where there would be many women and lots of booze. But Sophie was born without seeing his father. At Kfar Habad, on July 29, 1977, at the joint Bar Mitzvah for 100 fatherless boys, in the presence of Prime Minister. He has reached the apex of success, and it seems that there is no door he can't open. Before leaving, Cohen assured his wife it would be his last trip before he returned home permanently. Do you rely on The Times of Israel for accurate and insightful news on Israel and the Jewish world? Again, I. Before he was executed, Cohen met with a rabbi, as per his request, and sent his wife a letter. The Israeli government and Cohens widow have for many years sought the return of Elis body. 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. tabet sends it to Argentina, where his friend dispatches them to Israel with a diplomatic pouch. [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". 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. 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. 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. The leading figure in the break-in was the head of Syrian Intelligence, Colonel Ahmed Suedani Elis nemesis. The Israel Defense Forces were alleged to have used the trees as targeting markers during the Six-Day War, which enabled Israel to capture the Golan Heights in two days. He ultimately complied. Despite her criticism of the series, Ben-Dor said she understood why the shows creators took artistic license with her fathers story. [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 news spread everywhere that the Syrian leader is a spy, a president friend, a millionaire. Still Ben-Dor, who was four years old when her father was killed, said she was pleasantly surprised by actor Cohens portrayal. they carry out several bombings in Cairo and Alexandria, targeting libraries and cultural centers, cinemas, post offices. He was also allowed to write a final letter to his wife. I want him, here and now, because I've reached the age that I deserve tranquillity. 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. Eli Cohen was first sent to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to establish his cover as a Syrian emigre. [8], Cohen was found guilty of espionage by a military tribunal and sentenced to death under martial law. Asked to pinpoint what she found not to be reflective of her familys experience, Ben-Dor cited the ethnic gap, noting her mother was never a maid as was portrayed in the series. The location of Cohen's body remains unknown. "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. They married in 1959, a month after meeting, and had three children together. It doesnt fit our story but I understand the situation. Offended, he resigned from military counterintelligence and took up a clerical job in a Tel Aviv insurance office. Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen (Hebrew: , Arabic: ; 6 December 1924 18 May 1965), commonly known as Eli Cohen, was an Egyptian-born Israeli spy. Eli himself was not above the spicier part of a spys life either. At this time the Ba'ath Party was illegal in Syria but the party seized power in 1963. Eli Cohen (pictured, at center) was born in Egypt in 1924 to Jewish parents who had immigrated to Alexandria from Aleppo, Syria. In January 1965, Syrian security officers broke into Elis apartment while he was in the middle of his escape to Israel. After his execution, a white parchment filled with anti-Zionist writing was put on his body, and he was left hanging for six hours. "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. Every morning, Eli would leave home and head for the Aman training center. 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. In 1954, the British pull out of Egypt completely. Another tutor trained him to speak Arabic. In the 1970s, they left Israel for Germany and in 1982, al-Gamal, alias Jacques Biton, died of an illness. By registering you agree to the terms and conditions. On 29 December 2022, Cohen was sworn in as Foreign Minister alongside a new government, and will rotate the position with Israel Katz. However, Eli's loyalty was scrutinized, and he faced harassment by the 'Muslim Brotherhood.' 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. The new Ba'ath government initially installed Lu'ay al-Atassi as president in March 1963. They observed a period of radio silence, in the hope that any illegal transmissions could be identified. [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). From 1948 until 1967, Syria firing mortar shells from the Syrian occupied Golan Heights into the Jewish settlements of the Upper Galilee below. On August 31, 1959, he married a beautiful Iraqi-born Jew, Nadia Majald. 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. He arrived in Israel on February 8, 1957. 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 Israel, he found the job of translating weekly and monthly magazines for a man after a few months he was fired. A year later your sister dies.in 1947 all of you arrived in Argentina. 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. Cohen had aided the unit and was implicated, but they found no link between him and the perpetrators. The children could not react to Eli's absence. Incorrect password. It hurt. In January 1965, Syrian government officials announced that Eli is an Israeli spy. 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. But he refused). Sacha Baron Cohen in 'The Spy' as Eli Cohen. In the interview, she said that her husband left behind memoirs, notes and other evidence. But in 2018, Cohens watch was retrieved in a secret Mossad scheme. Eli Cohen was sent to Syria as an undercover agent, and he turned out to be the greatest spy to date. After several days, Eli got a new identity as Kamal Amin Tablet, son of Syrian parents, born in Beirut. 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. Egyptian authorities uncovered the spy ring and sentenced two of the members to death. [15], Cohen moved to Damascus in February 1962 under the alias Kamel Amin Thaabet (Arabic: ). 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. In November 1965, Eli's wife wrote to Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad, requesting him to send Elis remains back to Israel. [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. Hes a trusted friend.. He soon established himself in the social and cultural life of the Syrian community of Buenos Aires and was known as a wealthy businessman who was generous, tipped well, and loved the night life. 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. You're not alone. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. Eliyahu (Eli) Cohen, an Egyptian Jew, was born in Alexandria in 1924. The Syrians have consistently refused to do so. We may recall the Egyptian-Jewish spies from the Operation Susannah fiasco. The actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has a . He says the spies wanted him to try and talk to his father's close friends or provide insight. Concentrate on yourself, looking forward for a better future! I want him (Yossi Cohen) to clarify what hapepned," said the 84-year-old. Eli seemed to have completed the final stage in establishing his network. Eli was friends with two highly placed Army officers, Colonels Hatoum and Dali, who were fully informed about the scheme. Our website uses cookies to improve your experience. 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. The crime of obtaining secret information is kept hidden to ensure the safety of the country to benefit the enemy. [9], Cohen continued his social life as he had in Argentina, spending time in cafes listening to political gossip. 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.
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