He returned home to his family only a few times during his mission. Over the years, Nadia has made several efforts to seek a bit of mercy from Syrian officials. He sent intelligence to Israel by radio, secret letters, and occasionally in person; he secretly traveled to Israel three times. Eli expressed his fear and wish to terminate his assignment in Syria during his last visit to Israel in November 1964. Others have attributed the carelessness to an almost suicidal tendency perhaps, it was later surmised, he had been in the undercover world too long, but knew he couldnt get out of it. The new Ba'ath government initially installed Lu'ay al-Atassi as president in March 1963. Last Friday marked the 53rd anniversary of the execution of Eli Cohen, the Egyptian-born Israeli spy who burrowed his way so deep into the Syrian state apparatus he nearly came to head it. Today, one can see the former Syrian bunkers that remain on the Golan Heights from 1967 (as well as the tanks from 1973). In 1954, Egyptian authorities arrested Eli for being a terror suspect. Another tutor trained him to speak Arabic. He set up a travel agency in Tel Aviv and developed ties with the upper echelons of Israeli society, including politicians. "I am the son of the only person on this planet who knows where the remains are buried," he told Newshub in an interview. Ben-Dor was pessimistic that Israel would soon be able to retrieve her fathers body from Syria. 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. 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. Al-Gamal rushed to inform his superiors that Thabet was none other than Eli Cohen, the Alexandrian Jew. 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. The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the. Eli had to conceal the microfilm inexpensive boxes containing backgammon pieces .the music ornament could be dug out of the polished wood and reinserted after microfilm had been placed in the cavity. He became far less careful in his transmissions to Israel, sometimes calling once or even twice a day and almost always at the same time, at 8:30 in the morning. Israel attacked the project serval time later they abandon the project in 1965. But as with all fictional works that derive from real-life events, The Spy, perhaps for reasons ranging from time constraints to story relevance, omits some points in Cohen's story. The border with Syria was heating up as well. Scheffeldt, 63, is the widow of Rifa'at al-Gamal, an Egyptian spy who reportedly operated in Israel for a number of years. He also held parties at his home for high-placed Syrian ministers, businessmen, and others. When Intelligence came by a second time, he jumped at it. I understand and respect [it], she said in a separate interview earlier Sunday with the network. Using Biton, Israel "fed" Egypt with false intelligence that reportedly contributed to the Six Day War victory. Later, visiting his sister-in-law, Cohen's wife Nadia, he notices that she has a brand new Singer sewing machine in her home. 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. He was convicted in a trial without a defense and sentenced to death. It went wrong, really wrong," he said. Concentrate on yourself; look forward to a better future!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 motherPlease pray for my soul. Concentrate on yourself; look forward to a better future! I am begging you my dear Nadia not to spend your time in weeping about some thing already passed. [5] He studied at Cairo Farouk University. They further said that the use of the term "partner" is generic and is applied to all those agencies with which we have contact. There is always the risk that the agent remains loyal to his original handlers and has managed to fool his new bosses. For 19 years, Jewish settlements in the north were under constant threat of Syrian guns. The Spy sees a friendship blossoming between Eli Cohen and Amin al-Hafiz, the future president of Syria, that begins as Cohen first goes undercover as Thaabet in Buenos Aires and mutually benefits them both for yearsright through to Cohen's discovery as an Israeli spy and subsequent execution. He was supposed to stay in Buenos Aires as a Syrian migr businessman named Kamal Amin Taabet. They married in 1959, a month after meeting, and had three children together. Click the link in that email to complete registration so you can comment. As we saw, the Syrians continually harassed Israels northern settlements from 1948-67. The purposes of that visit were to pass on intelligence and to enable him to witness the birth of his third child. In March 1963, General Hafez, Eli's friend was appointed minister of defense in salah Al-Birat's cabinet. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 26, 1924, the second of eight children in a family of orthodox Jews. he goes abroad for business and meets Nadia and Sophie in Bat Yam. This article was originally published in May 2005 and republished to coincide with the release of "The Spy" - a Netflix series about Eli Cohen's life. He has reached the apex of success, and it seems that there is no door he can't open. The agent replied: "Will do, thanks K". At the end of 1961, Syria dissolved its union with Egypt, which had lasted a mere three years. In early 1961, Chaim Herzog, Chief of Military Intelligence and later president of Israel, signed the document authorizing Cohens use as a spy. The Spy alternates between Cohens risky schemes with Nadias far more ordinary life. Also in Episode 5, viewers see Hafiz assume power after demanding the resignation of Syria's then-president, Nazim al-Qudsi. Did you spend your weekend binge-watching Netflix's taut thriller, The Spy? Thats why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. The Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, plans to name one of the buildings in its compound after Eli Cohen - its spy in Syria who was caught in Damascus, tried, convicted and executed 40 years ago. 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. "- From Eli Cohen's last letter to his wife Nadia and his children, written an hour before his execution in Damascus. He became a confidante of George Saif, high up in the Ministry of Information. In exchange for his freedom, he agreed to work for Egypt's intelligence service. they made great efforts to locate the secret transmission to Israel with help of Soviet-made equipment, in January 1965 they got success. The unit bombed unoccupied American and British installations, expecting that this would be considered the work of Egyptians. On January 24, 1965, Syrian intelligence broke into his home in the middle of a transmission. [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. Despite being away from home for months at a time, he fathered three children, Sophie, Irit and Shai. Show creator Gideon Raff's limited series has brought renewed attention to the life and work of Eli Cohen. However, running a double agent is considered to be one of the most complex missions in intelligence work. What is perhaps most amazing about Eli Cohen is that he was genuinely liked even loved by so many of the top Syrian leaders. According to Scheffeldt, Cohen and al-Gamal were arrested together in 1954 and released shortly after. Cohen was released because he was not linked with the underground. Cohen was caught and eventually executed by Syrian authorities in 1965. On August 31, 1959, he married a beautiful Iraqi-born Jew, Nadia Majald. "We have six grandchildren," she says with pride as she points to a family photo on the wall. Egyptian authorities uncovered the spy ring and sentenced two of the members to death. Elis friendship with Amin al-Hafez proved very valuable. [31] A memorial stone has been erected to Cohen in the Garden of the Missing Soldiers in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem. After several days, Eli got a new identity as. But within a month he had lost his Tel Aviv-based accountancy job. [7] Cohen is married, has four children and lives in Holon. 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. He was hanged on May 18, 1965. Khalid al-Hafidh, a Syrian migrant living in Auckland, claims to be the son Amin al-Hafiz, a Syrian leader who presided over the country during Cohen's execution and his subsequent secret burial. 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. 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. Still Ben-Dor, who was four years old when her father was killed, said she was pleasantly surprised by actor Cohens portrayal. [7][9] The Israel Defense Forces recruited him in 1957 and placed him in military intelligence, where he became a counter-intelligence analyst. 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. Cohen was born in 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt to a devout Mizrahi Jewish and Zionist family. 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. The execution was recorded on 35mm film. They had a son, Daniel, and after the Six Day War they celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. For two weeks Cohen was put under surveillance and was judged suitable for recruitment and training. Sacha Baron Cohen in 'The Spy' as Eli Cohen. Elis connections enabled him to be taken to the Golan Heights a major strategic asset for Syria from 1948-67. 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 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. In a display of generosity, the tabet contributed some money to build a public kitchen for the poor of Damascus. [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. The six-part drama about Israeli spy Eli Cohen has gripped viewers and critics alike with its pulse-racing tale of espionage and a deceptively good dramatic performance by Sacha Baron Cohen, better known for his comedy work, as the Mossad agent. Thanks". Because of that, perhaps he just tired of the whole charade. On 29 December 2022, Cohen was sworn in as Foreign Minister alongside a new government, and will rotate the position with Israel Katz. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. 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.

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