Because of that, perhaps he just tired of the whole charade. Eli's second instructor Yehuda taught him how to use a small, sophisticated radio transmitter. For a while, Cohen tried his hand at civilian life. 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. Cohen established his contact quickly, his letter of recommendation opened the gates to high society. In 1959, he married Nadia Majald, born circa 1935, [10] an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant and the sister of author Sami Michael. The actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has a . The Israeli government and Cohens widow have for many years sought the return of Elis body. A memorial stone has been erected in the 'Garden of the Missing Soldiers' in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, to commemorate him. Elis connections enabled him to be taken to the Golan Heights a major strategic asset for Syria from 1948-67. . Eli's handlers were continually persuading him to return. Recruitment into the Mossad. To establish his cover, Cohen moved to Buenos Aires in 1961. Ahead of the mission, Cohen had to learn to speak Arabic in a Syrian accent rather than his native Egyptian. 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. [9], Syria refused to return Cohen's body to his family in Israel, and his wife Nadia sent a letter to Amin al-Hafiz in November 1965 asking his forgiveness for Cohen's actions and requesting his remains. Prior to the 1952 Egyptian Revolution, Cohen was arrested and interrogated over his Zionist activities. The agent replied: "Will do, thanks K". The message was passed on to the Syrians, who arrested Cohen. Cohen was convicted of espionage. In January 1965, Syrian security officers broke into Elis apartment while he was in the middle of his escape to Israel. "He began writing the number but stopped abruptly and, looking flushed and flustered, mumbled under his breath about needing to run out to the supermarket before it closed. Elis friendship with Amin al-Hafez proved very valuable. Fiyaz Mughal,Eli Cohens body must be returned to Israel, The JC, (Undated). Israel could not survive without Jordan's water. The daughter of legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen said Sunday "it hurt" to watch the new Netflix series about her father's life and execution in Syria, lamenting some historical inaccuracies in. But the series did not give al-Gamal enough credit, she said, and this led her to reveal his memoirs, which he wrote in secret and deposited with a lawyer for safekeeping. Egyptian authorities uncovered the spy ring and sentenced two of the members to death. A year later your sister dies.in 1947 all of you arrived in Argentina. The agency concluded that Cohen had a high IQ, great bravery, a phenomenal memory, and the ability to keep a secret; but the tests also showed that in spite of his modest appearance, he has an exaggerated sense of self-importance, and a lot of internal tension. Cohen, the results indicated, does not always evaluate danger correctly, and is liable to assume risks beyond those which are necessary.. 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. They had a son, Daniel, and after the Six Day War they celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. In the short periods he came home he wanted to absorb all the love from his children, he even smelt their scent to stay with him, and he wanted to give all the love possible, like a father to his children. Please use the following structure: example@domain.com, Send me The Times of Israel Daily Edition. The following year, Syria found out about Cohen by tracing his intelligence transmissions to Israel. He returned home to his family only a few times during his mission. He was sent to Argentina, where he took on the guise of a businessman, scion of a Syrian family. After some months, Abdel Latif Hassan introduces Eli to General Amin El-Hafez, the military attache at the embassy. She has pleaded for years and is still waiting to receive Eli's body. 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. Cohen went undercover in Syria as Kamel Amin Thaabet in the early 1960s, aligned himself with key military and government personnel and fed intel back to Israel. HERZLIYA, Israel (Reuters) - A Netflix drama about Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who infiltrated the Syrian government in the 1960s and was later executed, has received a . It doesnt fit our story but I understand the situation. [7], Following state-sponsored anti-Semitic attacks on its Jewish communities, many of them fled or were expelled, and Cohen was forced to leave the country in December 1956. 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. Qudsi was ousted from power as a result of the March 8 coup, but Hafiz did not take power until months later. 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. I had gotten under his cover," said Maurice Cohen. One of them was Colonel Amin al-Hafaz, a supporter of the secular-leftist Baath party. Irit does not know her father. 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. you lived with your uncle and worked as a travel agency, later were very successful. Eli seemed to have completed the final stage in establishing his network. [8] His most famous achievement was the tour of the Golan Heights in which he collected intelligence on the Syrian fortifications there. Cohen would then send intelligence back to Israel using a hidden radio transmitter. 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. they made great efforts to locate the secret transmission to Israel with help of Soviet-made equipment, in January 1965 they got success. They had a son, Daniel, and after the Six Day War they celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. [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. 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. The Kinneret supplies Israel with most of its water needs. The location of Cohen's body remains unknown. Despite being away from home for months at a time, he fathered three children, Sophie, Irit and Shai. 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. "You know, when I was growing up, I heard a tremendous amount about your husband. 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. He lasted until just July that year when he resigned in protest of the Ba'ath military committee executing dissenting rivals who tried to stage a coup for power. 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. become close friends. Eli could watch the entrance to the Syrian government officials' guest house. Fortunately, several were easy to spot, for they . Melita Norwood | longest-serving British spy | Melita Norwood Book, Death, Family, Daughter | melita norwood images. All these years, I remained faithful to him. The goal was to gather intelligence from high-ranking Syrian politicians and military officials. also learned to identify the type and age of tanks, aircraft, and cannons. [9] The governments of Belgium, Canada, and France tried to persuade the Syrian government to commute the death sentence,[25] but the Syrians refused. 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.. It, however, did not change the situation. 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. His fathers name was Amin Taabet, and his mothers Saadia Ibrahim. It could not let Syria succeed and planning a response. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 26, 1924. In the fifties, Israel had launched a project of huge pipeline and canals that would carry a part of the jorden river water to the arid Negev region. He had been repeatedly interrogated and tortured. 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. "Sophie's. [26], Monthir Maosily, the former bureau chief of Hafez Al-Assad, claimed in August 2008 that the Syrians had buried him three times to stop the remains from being taken back to Israel via a special operation. The execution was broadcast on Syrian television. Cohen had aided the unit and was implicated, but they found no link between him and the perpetrators. They observed a period of radio silence, in the hope that any illegal transmissions could be identified. His new friends introduced Eli to top government officials, senior army officers, and leaders of the ruling party. While there, he gained the trust of Amin al-Hafez, who would later become Syrias president. 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. On May 18, 1965, Eli was publicly hanged at the Marjeh Square in Damascus, Syria. They further said that the use of the term "partner" is generic and is applied to all those agencies with which we have contact. Eli Cohen (pictured, at center) was born in Egypt in 1924 to Jewish parents who had immigrated to Alexandria from Aleppo, Syria. On August 31, 1959, he married a beautiful Iraqi-born Jew, Nadia Majald. The Spy, which was released Friday, tells the story of Cohen, who spied for Israel in Syria during the 1960s, providing valuable intelligence that was said to have greatly assisted the Israeli military in the 1967 Six Day War. He was caught and sentenced to death. That is, until Meir Dagan took over as chief. 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. [9], In 1959, he married Nadia Majald, born circa 1935,[10] an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant and the sister of author Sami Michael. It is for these reasons Eli Cohen is known as Israels greatest spy. [8], Cohen was found guilty of espionage by a military tribunal and sentenced to death under martial law. 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. Intelligence created a completely new identity for him. [30], Cohen has become a national hero in Israel, and many streets and neighborhoods have been named for him. Confused, he took the case to the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, the official responsible for supervising New Zealand's two main intelligence agencies, telling him he could have solved the 53-year-old mystery. Unfortunately, Nadia and her family are still waiting to get Elis body and have not made peace with it. On 29 December 2022, Cohen was sworn in as Foreign Minister alongside a new government, and will rotate the position with Israel Katz. In the interview, she said that her husband left behind memoirs, notes and other evidence. "I was cooperating with the New Zealand Secret Intelligence Service, in cooperation with the Mossad, in order to help find the remains of the Israeli spy Eli Cohen," he said. 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.

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