Eli was, however, persuaded continuously by Israeli intelligence agencies to return to Syria. He escaped punishment due to lack of evidence. In January 1947, he chose to enlist in the Egyptian Army as an alternative to paying the prescribed sum all young Jews were supposed to pay, but was declared ineligible on grounds of questionable loyalty. My oldest brother is author Sami Michael. He studied at Cairo Farouk University. As a result, there sprung up in Egypt a branch of the Jewish organization set up in Palestine to smuggle Jews into the territory. They offered to purchase the life of Eli Cohen. All pleas have been rejected. A Syrian opposition group claims it will hand over the body of Israeli spy Eli Cohen back to Israel. A Netflix drama about Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who infiltrated the Syrian government in the 1960s and was later executed, has received a mixed review from his widow. "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." Cohen’s capture was mere chance. In November 1965, Eli's wife wrote to Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad, requesting him to send Eli’s remains back to Israel. In reality, he returned home to Israel to spend time with his wife and children, to rest and relax and to undergo thorough in-person debriefing by his Mossad handlers. For 19 years, Northern Israel had been under constant threat of Syrian barrage from a series of fortified concrete bunkers housing long-range artillery constructed on the slopes of the Golan Heights. Nadia, widow of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, reacts during an interview with Reuters in Herzliya, Israel October 6, 2019. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 26, 1924, the second of eight children in a family of orthodox Jews. Nadia Cohen: The Untold Story of the wife of Eli Cohen. 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. He rented an apartment purposely located across the street from Syrian Army headquarters and went about setting up an import-export business, the hollowed out legs of his shipped furniture serving as hiding places for microfilm and written notes, which circuitously made their way to Israel. He was married to an Iraqi Jewish woman named Nadia. Syrian Intelligence at first attempted to use Cohen to send false information via his transmitter to Israel but his keystroke change of cadence alerted the Mossad to his capture. This helped the army win the Six-Day War and capture the Golan Heights. Eli was, however, taken in by 'Mossad' when Director-General Meir Amit was in search of a special agent to infiltrate the Syrian government. __________________________________________________________________, Our latest stories delivered to your inbox daily, Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from San Diego Jewish World. On July 5, 2018, media channels announced that Eli’s wristwatch had been retrieved from Syria, which was later given back to Eli's family by 'Mossad' in a ceremony. Eli was brutally tortured and interrogated before he was publicly hanged on May 18, 1965, at the ‘Marjeh Square’ in Damascus. Even the Pope intervened. He was caught red handed. His family is now settled in Bat Yam. They were members of the Mossad, Israel’s Secret Intelligence Service and were there to honor the memory of Shai’s father, their fallen colleague Eli Cohen, Israel’s greatest spy. For a while, Cohen tried his hand at civilian life. Two of them were Abraham and Maurice. In his late teens, Cohen became an ardent Zionist and at the same time, as World War II ended, Egypt was increasingly persecuting its Jews. Maazi Zahreddine and the front: Maazi escorted Cohen to the Syrian front with Israel in 1962. He then moved to Damascus in February 1962, under his new identity, “Kamel Amin Thaabet,” to extract classified information from Syrian military officers. The job was tedious and after a year, Cohen went to his superiors requesting fieldwork. He was a soldier without a uniform, and will forever remain a national hero in our collective memory." The agent said things such as: Sacha Baron Cohen in 'The Spy' as Eli Cohen. Who Is The Greatest Female Warrior In History. In February 2007, a Turkish official assured assistance to Eli's family to get back his body. Much of the intelligence that Eli Cohen forwarded to Israel remains classified but some has become public. Young Israeli husband Eli Cohen is recruited by the Mossad in the early 1960's and sent to Syria. An Israeli intelligence agency deployed him to develop close relationships with Syrian political and military officials. Spier is a retired lawyer with a keen interest in Jewish history. The watch is now on display at the 'Mossad' headquarters. Eli married Iraqi Jewish Nadia Majald, sister of Hebrew author Sami Michael, in 1959. Get email notification for … He was a loner, spent several months traveling around the country and did not work for almost a year. The film featured John Shea as Eli. He was forced to leave Iraq because he led an underground leftist communist group in Iraq that was active against the regime. He was recruited by a Mossad operative nicknamed ‘the Dervish’ who, after a long period of questioning and a battery of medical and psychological tests, invited Cohen to join. Cohen’s assignment was to penetrate into the Syrian power structure. They had three children, Sophie, Irit, and Shai. The Mossad has a policy of not accepting volunteers as field agents fearing that they may be adventurers. Eli Cohen with his family. 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. They knew of his undercover work in Egypt and his language skills. Eli Cohen’s last letter to his wife, Nadia, written in Arabic an hour before his execution. In 1949, shortly after the State of Israel was established, Cohen’s parents and brothers moved to Israel. In addition to Shai’s family and friends, in attendance were Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Defense Minister Ezer Weizman, Chief of Staff Motta Gur and several strangers to most present. Cohen forwarded to Israel, detailed plans of Syria’s scheme to starve Israel of water by diverting the headwaters of the Jordan River. On May 8, Cohen was sentenced to death. It’s true that the history behind the show is fascinating and that there are some incredible side stories as well. __________________________________________________________________ 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. His last wish was to see a “rabbi.” Hence, Nissim Andabo, the elderly chief rabbi of Syria accompanied him to ‘Marjeh Square.’. He was sentenced to death. On February 6, 1961, Syrian expatriate, Kamil Amin Taabes, a bachelor and bon vivant Muslim businessman who had inherited a large fortune and whose lifelong dream was to return to Syria to contribute to its growth and work toward the destruction of Israel, boarded a Swissair flight from Zurich to Buenos Aires. It was … Eventually, they had three children: Sophie Ben-Dor, Irit Peleg, and Shai Cohen. Cohen joined. They had three children, Sophie, Irit, and Shai. They had foreign governments including Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker plead for mercy. They knew of … Shortly after 3:30 A.M. on May 18, 1965 Cohen was publicly hanged before a vast crowd of jeering Syrians, his body left to dangle for the next six hours and then cut down to be buried in an unmarked grave at an undisclosed location somewhere inside Syria. Through a series of lavish dinner parties, Cohen formed connections with Syrian diplomats and military officials including Amin al-Hafez, Syria’s military attaché to Argentina, Cohen, as a result of his cultivation of diplomatic contacts, in short order, was invited to Syria to set up business operations. Nadia and the children agonized, but they did not believe it. Nadia, who had three children with Eli and never remarried, still holds out hope that Cohen's remains will return home, after the Mossad recovered his wristwatch from Syria last year in … They had three children. Eli studied at a local Jewish community school and then attended the 'University of Alexandria' to study electrical engineering. In 1959, Eli met and later married his wife, beautiful, Iraqi born, Nadia. In the years following the creation of Israel, many Jewish famili… Any amount helps! There is a limit of one letter per writer on any given day. During each of his first three years in Syria, Cohen took an extended business trip abroad. Eli Cohen was the man for the job. Eli found out about Syria's secret plan to attack the Israeli defense forces. Parents passed out sweets among their children, while lively music played. 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 took his last few steps to the stool on which he’d stand for his execution. Now Eli Cohen's astonishing real life James Bond story is the basis of the new Netflix miniseries The Spy, starring Sacha Baron Cohen. Letters lacking such information will be automatically deleted. In the process, Eli became the chief advisor to the Syrian defense minister. These high placed Syrians particularly enjoyed the use of his bachelor pad for assignations with various women. Like what you’ve read? Cohen was twice taken into custody by the Egyptian Intelligence Service on suspicion of clandestine activities but both times was released for lack of evidence. He carried with him a powerful miniature radio transmitter hidden in the false bottom of a food mixer, the cord of his electric razor serving as the antenna, cyanide tablets disguised as aspirin, high explosive chemicals hidden in toothpaste tubes and cans of shaving cream and the finest camera equipment. In December 1956, the ‘Jewish Agency’ assisted Eli to deport to Israel in a vessel. In 1950, Cohen’s family, with his help, emigrated to Israel but he stayed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubQ6b-9OewI, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ9cUmvkgmg. In January 1965, Syrian security services broke into Eli's apartment, where he was caught while he was escaping to Israel. We require the following information on any letter for publication: 1) Your full name 2) Your city and state (or country) of residence. She has pleaded for years and is still waiting to receive Eli's body. Cohen’s parties were legendary and were attended by Syria’s power elite who talked freely of their work. Nadia Cohen is the widow of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who spied in Syria by posing as a wealthy merchant during the early 1960s before being caught and hanged to death publicly. She was married to him only for a few years from 1959 to his death in May 1965, but never remarried because of her deep love for him and raised their three children alone. 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. After weeks of surveillance, he was finalized and was put to training. Angry, Cohen quit and took a job as an accountant with a department store chain. I will try to be like you, father. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/eli-cohen-16869.php. In 1951, Cohen was recruited to do undercover work for Israel and was sent to Israel for a three-month course to train as a spy. He then left the university and continued his studies at home. As a result, a preventative assault by planes and artillery was ordered upon the Syrian base thus thwarting the attack. A great patriot of Egypt, Eli was eventually uncovered, convicted under pre-war martial law, and hanged publicly in Damascus in 1965. Cohen passed on information regarding the modernization, equipping and retraining of the Syrian military by Russia including close-up photographs of Russia’s newest MIG 21 fighter, data on the arrival into Syria of the advanced Soviet T54 tank, and a complete set of Russian made plans for how Syria could cut off Northern Israel in a surprise attack. They married in 1959, a month after meeting, and had three children together. Thus, he wished to terminate his assignment in Syria. On his return to Egypt, Cohen worked as a radio operator, transmitting intelligence to Israel. 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) Yossi Melman. In 1960, the national intelligence agency of Israel, 'Mossad,' approached Eli for a classified mission in Syria. (You can unsubscribe anytime). In February 1962, Cohen arrived in Damascus. When the two met, Cohen re-introduced himself, “I am Eli Cohen from Tel Aviv a soldier in the Israeli Army”. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 26, 1928 [sic 1924]. Israel, desperate to save his life, offered to exchange all Syrian spies and criminals in their custody for Cohen. "Eli Cohen was a brave fighter, an unknown soldier in the service of the Israeli state. Cohen spent his nights conveying the information that he had learned to Israel using his radio transmitter or secreted in his exported furniture. Two years after the death of Eli Cohen, the six-day war erupted. From 1961 to 1965, Eli transmitted crucial intelligence data, including that of the Golan Heights, to the Israeli army. At the end of his last visit, Cohen told Nadia that he had to go abroad again but when he returned he would never leave her. Syria understood the message. 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. Cohen now embarked upon an extensive and grueling 6-month training course. In the 50 years since Cohen’s death, his family and successive Israeli governments, who have never forgotten their fallen warrior, have pleaded for the return of his remains. I will be a faithful son of an admired hero. The six-episode miniseries, The Spy, premiered today on Netflix.In it, Sacha Baron Cohen plays Eli Cohen, an Israeli secret agent who pretends to be a rich Arab in order to infiltrate the Syrian government. Care to comment? children: Irit Cohen, Shai Cohen, Sophie Cohen, education: Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, See the events in life of Eli Cohen in Chronological Order. After all he had espionage experience, was born in an Arab country, had oriental features and spoke English, French and Arabic. Cohen was hanged in Marjeh Square in Damascus, leaving a wife and three children in Israel. Recruitment The decision to recruit and train an agent to be stationed in a target country (Egypt, Jordan or Syria) was made in 1958, not long after military intelligence failed to … A memorial stone has been erected in the 'Garden of the Missing Soldiers' in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, to commemorate him. 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 … With John Shea, Eli Wallach, Sasson Gabai, Michal Bat-Adam. The 2019 'Netflix' miniseries 'The Spy' had actor Sacha Baron Cohen portraying Eli. At the beginning of 1961, Eli Cohen was driven to the airport where he boarded a flight to Europe after saying goodbye to his wife, Nadia, who was only told that her husband would be working for the Ministry of Defense in some vague job. Eli has been honored as an Israeli national hero, and many streets and neighborhoods have been named after him. They would have three children, Sophie, Irit and Shai. They would have three children, Sophie, Irit and Shai. Nadia Cohen, widow of executed Israeli spy Eli Cohen, speaks to Channel 2 on September 20, 2016 after Syrian opposition forces release new video … Sep. 12, 2019. Please help us continue publishing quality content with your non-tax-deductible donation. Follow Ynetnews on … Eli Cohen (Hebrew: אלי כהן , born 3 October 1972) is an Israeli accountant and politician. On September 20, 2016, an unknown Syrian group named 'Syrian Art Treasures' posted a 'Facebook' video showing Eli's body after his execution. He was also assigned to extract classified information that later led to the success of the Six-Day War. Donald H. & Nancy E. Harrison, Co-publishers. Cohen at first acted as a courier but later took on the more dangerous job of bribing Egyptian officials for cooperation. The newly appointed Syrian intelligence colonel, Ahmed Su'edani, disliked Eli. Not too difficult a job for the Israeli pilots, as all they had to do was aim for the eucalyptus trees planted at Cohen’s suggestion. We were eight children. They waited for Cohen to settle comfortably into life in Israel so that the only motive to join the Mossad would be desire to serve country. Eli Cohen's family have hit out at the new Netflix mini series about the Mossad agent's life undercover behind enemy lines in Syria saying the flamboyant womaniser isn't the man they knew. Upon arrival in Buenos Aires, Cohen (Taabes) opened an account in an Arab bank, wore flashy clothes, drove a luxury car and hung out at the favorite haunts of the Syrian elite. Eli Cohen, the spy who was larger than life ... Nadia, would be left a widow with three very young children. He learned weapons proficiency, unarmed combat, sabotage, radio transmission, cryptography, surveillance, evasive techniques and because he was selected to operate in Syria, to change his Egyptian accented Arabic to the Syrian dialect. Covert beginnings. San Diego Jewish World is intended as a forum for the entire Jewish community, whatever your political leanings. The Mossad never really forgot Cohen. There's a lot of buzz around the show — for one, Sacha completely abandons his goofiness for a serious and dramatic role, and does an incredible job at it. Who was Eli Cohen? His father had moved there from Aleppo in 1914. Offended, he resigned from military counterintelligence and took up a clerical job in a Tel Aviv insurance office. In 1961, Eli was sent to Buenos Aires in the guise of a Syrian textile businessman. Directed by Jim Goddard. He organized several protest campaigns against the British rule. In 1959, Eli met and later married his wife, beautiful, Iraqi born, Nadia. The TV film 'The Impossible Spy' (1987) chronicled Eli's life. Cohen was born in 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt to a devout Jewish and Zionist family. He was supposed to stay in Buenos Aires as a Syrian émigré businessman named Kamal Amin Ta’abet. Finally, he was offered a job in the Ministry of Defense translating Arab newspapers into Hebrew and analyzing their contents. Cohen accepted. I'm sure of it. I will do my duty with all my strength and my devotion for the nation of Israel. In 1963, as a result of a coup, Cohen’s old friend from Argentina, Amin al-Hafez became President of Syria. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Likud and as Minister of Intelligence.He previously held the post of Minister of the Economy and Industry and was a member of the Security Cabinet of Israel.. Cohen was born in Alexandria to a devout Jewish and Zionist family in 1924. Letters may be posted below provided they are responsive to the article that prompted them, and civil in their tone. 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. I wanted to do it for the wife and children of Eli Cohen." Eli Cohen, in full Eliahu ben Shaoul Cohen, also called Kamal Amin Thaabet, (born 1924, Alexandria, Egypt—died May 18, 1965, Damascus, Syria), Egyptian-born Israeli spy who infiltrated the highest ranks of the Syrian military and government by posing as a Syrian businessman.Between 1961 and 1965 Cohen passed Syrian secrets to the Israeli government in what is remembered as one of the … However, Eli's loyalty was scrutinized, and he faced harassment by the 'Muslim Brotherhood.' "There is a body; it's buried somewhere secret, and at some stage, they'll find it. Cohen was born and raised in the Tel Giborim neighbourhood in Holon. top Cohen was completely trusted and even at one time considered for the post of Minister of Information and Propaganda. On January 18, 1965, eight Syrian security officers burst into Cohen’s Damascus apartment while he was transmitting. The game ended when President al-Hafez, who had personally been duped by Cohen, ordered a show trial. Eliyahu (Eli) Cohen, an Egyptian Jew, was born in Alexandria in 1924.As a young adult, he worked within Egypt to secretly … Eli Cohen… In 1960, the Mossad felt that Cohen was ready. He became part of the social and cultural life of the local Syrian community. The Syrian military officers even thought that Cohen’s suggestion to plant eucalyptus trees around the artillery emplacements for camouflage and to give the gunners some needed shade was a good idea. A noose was placed around his neck by a high-ranking Syrian government official who read the charges against Eli… Biography. Syria has not even disclosed the location of Eli's grave. On that day Eli Cohen, soldier of Israel, who bravely toiled in solitude far from home, his payment being the cruciality of his work, will come in from the cold. One of Cohen’ earliest reports warned of an imminent armored attack into Israel. Cohen learned that Nazi war criminal Franz Rademacher, responsible for the extermination of tens of thousands of Jews, was hiding in Syria. Eli Cohen (pictured, at center) was born in Egypt in 1924 to Jewish parents who had immigrated to Alexandria from Aleppo, Syria. Taabes was in fact Eli Cohen, now traveling under the persona invented for him by the Mossad who had determined that the best way for Cohen to infiltrate into Syria was through Argentina, home to a large and affluent Syrian community. A few years ago, a senior Syrian official said Eli Cohen had no grave; that a neighborhood had been built over it. Cohen was the only civilian permitted to tour these installations and was even permitted to take photographs. His remarkable memory permitted him to map what he had seen all of which made its way back to Israel.
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