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He was eventually exposed and captured by Syrian Intelligence in 1965, sentenced to death and hung at Damascus' main square. Following Israel's independence in 1949, when Jewish families were leaving Egypt, Eli stayed back to finish his electronics degree. Eli Cohenbecame certain that Israel had spied in the Syrian government. One day they took Eli to visit the Syrian positions along Israel's border. Cohen wrote in his final letter on 15 May 1965:[7]. Cohen's brothers Abraham and Maurice led a campaign to return his remains; Maurice died in 2006, and Nadia now leads it. In January 1965, Syrian government officials announced that Eli is an Israeli spy. [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). The Syrian officer readily agreed and Eli immediately passed the information onto Israel. The film featured John Shea as Eli. The saga of Eli Cohen, Israel's greatest spy - San Diego Jewish World Cohen was born and raised in Egypt and was expelled to Israel in 1956. 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. 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. Sacha Baron Cohen in 'The Spy' as Eli Cohen. "It was all for good intentions. In Episode 5, Cohen's playboy-esque Thaabet hosts a sex party at his apartment to distract key government and military officials while the Ba'ath Party's military committee seizes power in Damascus. Scheffeldt, 63, is the widow of Rifa'at al-Gamal, an Egyptian spy who reportedly operated in Israel for a number of years. She had no idea about Elis secret mission and thus did not see the threats and risks involved. The transmissions became longer as well. Cohen immigrated to Israel in 1957 and was recruited by Military Intelligence, to a unit that later became part of the Mossad. Nadia Cohen Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life, Achievements Likud MK Eli Cohen Federation of Local Authorities conference in Tel Aviv, December 8, 2022. He was stunned by the precision of the Israeli bombing during the 1964 attack. 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. The newly appointed Syrian intelligence colonel, Ahmed Su'edani, disliked Eli. . This week, KAN 11 began broadcasting a documentary series "Lochem 566," (Fighter 566, Cohen's Mossad codename). One of the more famous aspects of his spying regarded a trip he took to the Golan Heights. I am writing you these last words, minutes before my end, with the hope that you stay together forever. It takes just a few seconds. 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. Still, Israeli Intelligence asked him to return to Syria one more time. Eventually, they had three children: Sophie Ben-Dor, Irit Peleg, and Shai Cohen. They even started to organize a ceremony for Eli at the 'Mossad' headquarters in Glilot. Look after them, raise them up and educate them well, and don't deprive them or yourself of anything. Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Spy. In the show, Cohenas Thaabetbefriends Hafiz in Buenos Aires and later in Damascus helps Hafiz's Ba'ath party seize power. 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. Eli married Iraqi Jewish Nadia Majald, sister of Hebrew author Sami Michael, in 1959. Still Ben-Dor, who was four years old when her father was killed, said she was pleasantly surprised by actor Cohens portrayal. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen heads to Germany Tuesday as part of Israel's campaign to halt Iran's . The watch is now on display at the 'Mossad' headquarters. At times before the civil war, the Syrians used Israels northern border with Lebanon to harass Israel the way they used to from the Golan Heights. Israeli intelligence was particularly excited about Cohen . Eli Cohen Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements [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. As we saw, the Syrians continually harassed Israels northern settlements from 1948-67. Eli seemed to have completed the final stage in establishing his network. Nadia, however, never remarried. children: Irit Cohen, Shai Cohen, Sophie Cohen, place of death: Al Marjeh Square, Damascus, Syria, See the events in life of Eli Cohen in Chronological Order, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubQ6b-9OewI, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ9cUmvkgmg. While working as an intelligence officer offer him a job with high pay, Eli didn't say no and become a secret agent. 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. Did you spend your weekend binge-watching Netflix's taut thriller, The Spy? She also said she understood and respected the show. While there are reports that Cohen hosted parties that would devolve into orgies at his apartment, in order to gain the trust of high-level people in power, there's no concrete evidence that he played a role in the March 1963 coup. He was interrogated and tortured. His family is now settled in Bat Yam. "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." What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Eli's first instructor Yitzhak learned to memorize things, he throws a dozen objects on the table and Eli observe them for a second and described them. [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. Over the years, Nadia has made several efforts to seek a bit of mercy from Syrian officials. 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. The Spy alternates between Cohens risky schemes with Nadias far more ordinary life. During their exchange, Cohen signs off by asking, "Did N get the Singer?" Even today Syria refuses to return his body for burial in Israel. 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. Widow of Israeli spy Eli Cohen: 'When he was caught, something died But within a month he had lost his Tel Aviv-based accountancy job. His final visit was in 1964. Syria brought hydraulic engineers and diversion equipment to actualize the scheme. In 1949, his parents and three brothers moved to Israel while Eli remained in Egypt to coordinate Jewish and Zionist activities there. What is perhaps most amazing about Eli Cohen is that he was genuinely liked even loved by so many of the top Syrian leaders. What Netflix's 'The Spy' Gets Wrong About Eli Cohen 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. 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 information he had been providing them for years was too good to forego. Cohen later. He worked as an accountant. In January 1965, Syrian security officers broke into Elis apartment while he was in the middle of his escape to Israel. His training was extensive and exhaustive. soon Israel's tanks and cannon riposted with heavy fire, and minutes later mirage pounded the Syrian position and blasted the cannon of Syria that was dug. One of his friends found a new job as an accountant, month later he Marty with Nadia, a nurse of Iraqi origin. 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. In the 1970s, they left Israel for Germany and in 1982, al-Gamal, alias Jacques Biton, died of an illness. 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.. 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. China Offering Cutting Edge Type 052D Destroyers For Export: Are Algeria and Russia its Most lIkely Clients? Unfortunately, Nadia and her family are still waiting to get Elis body and have not made peace with it. Cohen was arrested in January 1965 while transmitting to his handlers. 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. 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.. In exchange for his freedom, he agreed to work for Egypt's intelligence service. [7] Cohen is married, has four children and lives in Holon. But Sophie was born without seeing his father. Incorrect password. In 1960, the national intelligence agency of Israel, 'Mossad,' approached Eli for a classified mission in Syria. In 1963, during a business trip to Germany, he met Weltrude Scheffeldt, a divorcee, then 22 and with a small child, and married her. "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. At the age of 41, Cohen was hanged in Damascus in front of a crowd of 10,000. 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]. His captors later remarked on his noble bearing and his courage despite the horrific Syrian interrogation methods. 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. Eli Cohen was born in Egypt in 1924 to Jewish parents, who had migrated to Alexandria from Syria. Every morning, Eli would leave home and head for the Aman training center. Israel tried to obtain the cooperation of her Arab neighbors for the plan, but the Arabs would not agree, even when the United States tried to use its diplomatic leverage for the furtherance of the plan. 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. His successes couldn't be vocally shared with his family, however. He then left the university and continued his studies at home. After a few months, Eli was visited by George Salem Seif, a radio show host in charge of radio Damascus broadcast for Syrian abord. 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. 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. The Golan is not only important for its military significance. Eli Cohen was first sent to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to establish his cover as a Syrian emigre. At the same time, Israeli officials devised escape schemes and appealed to international organizations. I give you my blessing. At this time the Ba'ath Party was illegal in Syria but the party seized power in 1963. ", "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 was brutally tortured and interrogated before he was publicly hanged on May 18, 1965, at the Marjeh Square in Damascus. After the Israel Independence War In 1954, the British pull out of Egypt completely. click the link in that email to complete your registration. [24], Following the 1963 Syrian coup d'tat, newly appointed Syrian Intelligence Colonel Ahmed Suidani disliked Cohen and did not trust figures close to the Second Syrian Republic. 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. 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. If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. Where Is Nadia Cohen Now? Spy Eli Cohen Wife Love Story - Refinery29 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. If I wanted something, I called, they put me through to him immediately. Revealed: The Plan to Expand the Israeli Knesset by More Than Double, Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved. 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. [11], The Mossad recruited Cohen after Director-General Meir Amit, looking for a special agent to infiltrate the Syrian government, came across his name while looking through the agency's files of rejected candidates, after none of the current candidates seemed suitable for the job. 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. He organized several protest campaigns against the British rule. "Their ages range from four and a half to 32." "You must be very proud," I offer. In 1965, the Syrian secret service was on high alert. It, however, did not change the situation. 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. He carefully cultivated contacts with the Baath leadership, which included the Syrian military attach in Argentina, General Amin al-Hafaz. 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. Eli's second instructor Yehuda taught him how to use a small, sophisticated radio transmitter. After some months, Abdel Latif Hassan introduces Eli to General Amin El-Hafez, the military attache at the embassy. In February 2007, the Turkish government offered to act as a mediator for their return. Eli Cohen's daughter Sofia Ben-Dor was excited about it because that is all they have. their chief noticed that their decision taken by the government was broadcast to 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 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. Fiyaz Mughal,Eli Cohens body must be returned to Israel, The JC, (Undated). Intelligence created a completely new identity for him. try to make as many friends as possible, and establish contact with Arab leaders. 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. In 1959, he married Nadia Majald, born circa 1935, [10] an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant and the sister of author Sami Michael. 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. Thus, he wished to terminate his assignment in Syria. But what happened next apparently deviates from the way it appears in the show. I beg you my dear Nadia do not spend your life weeping for what has passed. The agent replied: "Will do, thanks K". In the interview, she said that her husband left behind memoirs, notes and other evidence. 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 Spy is an aesthetically flawed portrait of Eli Cohen "We have six grandchildren," she says with pride as she points to a family photo on the wall. Al-Hafidh wanted a million dollars for his services, texting: "1M for the minimum for kick start. After several days, Eli got a new identity as Kamal Amin Tablet, son of Syrian parents, born in Beirut. 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. It could not let Syria succeed and planning a response. As Intelligence Chief Meir Amit said, Eli succeeded far beyond the capabilities of most other men.. Decades after the Eli Cohen affair there are still many questions, some minor, others major - among them, the way in which Syrian counterintelligence identified the Israeli spy (from the archive).