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. It was after Atassi resigned on July 27 that Hafiz was named president. Al-Gamal rushed to inform his superiors that Thabet was none other than Eli Cohen, the Alexandrian Jew. The Golan Heights defenses were top-secret and closed only to top military staff. Nadia Cohen attempted to appeal for clemency at the Syrian Embassy in Paris but was turned away. Eli was, however, taken in by 'Mossad' when Director-General Meir Amit was in search of a special agent to infiltrate the Syrian government. "There was great excitement because it is essentially the only item of dad that came back, we have nothing. In early 1964, Eli was able to radio Tel Aviv that the channel was being dug along the entire length of the Syrian Heights to receive the diverted flow of the Baniyas River - one of the Jordans major sources - and empty into Jordanian territory. Eli carefully spelled out all the details of the project and passed them on to Israeli 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. 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. In 1965, the Syrian secret service was on high alert. While working as an intelligence officer offer him a job with high pay, Eli didn't say no and become a secret agent. The Ba'athist coup and Eli Cohen's role. It hurt. In Episode 5, Maurice puts the clues together when he covers for the regular analyst that communicates with Cohen using Morse code. Monthir Maosily, a former bureau chief for Syrian president Hafez al-Assad, claimed in 2007 that Hafiz and Cohen were not as close as was made out and that stories of Cohen infiltrating the very top of Syrian politics "had been exaggerated to undermine Syria, as if he was a spy who had transmitted Syria's deepest secrets.". 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. The execution was recorded on 35mm film. After three months, Eli spoke passable Spanish, knew Buenos Aires well, dressed, and behaved like thousands of Arab immigrants living in Buenos Aires. Eli Cohen, at 29, offered his services to the Israeli Intelligence Services but was rebuked twice. The TV film 'The Impossible Spy' (1987) chronicled Eli's life. Eli, who would feign intoxication, remained sober and listened carefully., In addition to providing loans to government officials and acting as an avid host, he was asked for advice by government officials, who were often intoxicated by the alcohol he freely provided. their chief noticed that their decision taken by the government was broadcast to Israel. She has pleaded for years and is still waiting to receive Eli's body. Eli started transmitting his message to Israel daily at 8 a.m. After six months kamal Amin tabet become well known. There he met members of the Jewish Underground, handled by Unit 131 of Israel's Military Intelligence, which was exposed by the Egyptians in 1954. For two weeks Cohen was put under surveillance and was judged suitable for recruitment and training. The crime of obtaining secret information is kept hidden to ensure the safety of the country to benefit the enemy. In the interview, she said that her husband left behind memoirs, notes and other evidence. 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. The goal was to gather intelligence from high-ranking Syrian politicians and military officials. In the 1960s, Israel developed a national water carrier which diverted water from the Kinneret into a pipeline that irrigated much of the country and especially Israels arid south. Saif calmly replied, Theres nothing to worry about. [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. 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. He reminded me of my father sometimes, she added. [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. For 19 years, Jewish settlements in the north were under constant threat of Syrian guns. I want him (Yossi Cohen) to clarify what hapepned," said the 84-year-old. Eli was friends with two highly placed Army officers, Colonels Hatoum and Dali, who were fully informed about the scheme. Israel attacked the project serval time later they abandon the project in 1965. Still Ben-Dor, who was four years old when her father was killed, said she was pleasantly surprised by actor Cohens portrayal. While undercover in Argentina in The Spy, Cohen struggles to resist drafting her notes, even if it puts him in danger. One day Cohen was sitting in Saifs office reading a classified document while the Syrian was on the phone. Eli seemed to have completed the final stage in establishing his network. Look after them, raise them up and educate them well, and don't deprive them or yourself of anything. The watch is now on display at the 'Mossad' headquarters. It takes just a few seconds. But he refused). [5] He studied at Cairo Farouk University. Syria has not even disclosed the location of Eli's grave. I give you my blessing. thus Israel needed an agent in Damascus (Sami Micheal, Nadia Cohen's brother was recruited. 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. Recruitment into the Mossad. Source:The Pedagogic Center, The Department for Jewish Zionist Education, The Jewish Agency for Israel, (c) 1992-2007. Al-Hafidh wanted a million dollars for his services, texting: "1M for the minimum for kick start. 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. He wrote a last letter to his wife before he mounted the scaffold to a seething crowd. The purposes of that visit were to pass on intelligence and to enable him to witness the birth of his third child. From 1961 to 1965, Eli transmitted crucial intelligence data, including that of the Golan Heights, to the Israeli army. Eliyahu (Eli) Cohen, an Egyptian Jew, was born in Alexandria in 1924. To establish his cover, Cohen moved to Buenos Aires in 1961. He made friends who moved in highly influential Syrian circles, transmitting his findings back to Israel via radio. They further said that the use of the term "partner" is generic and is applied to all those agencies with which we have contact. 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. Eli's wife Nadia, played by Hadar Ratzon Rotem, has to deal with raising two children without her husband, who disappears for up to a year at a time without being allowed to tell her what he's actually doing or even where he is. Cohen accepted the calling. You're not alone. 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. A devout Jew, Cohen wore tefillin during prayer, in his youth he planned of becoming a Rabbi with the backup of Moise Ventura (1893-1978), Chief Rabbi of Alexandria but the Rabbinical School closed down. His first assignment was to infiltrate the Jewish community of Alexandria. On July 5, 2018, media channels announced that Elis wristwatch had been retrieved from Syria, which was later given back to Eli's family by 'Mossad' in a ceremony. A memorial stone has been erected in the 'Garden of the Missing Soldiers' in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, to commemorate him. He arrived in Israel on February 8, 1957. 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. 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. [9] The governments of Belgium, Canada, and France tried to persuade the Syrian government to commute the death sentence,[25] but the Syrians refused. Last year, Israel was able to retrieve Cohens wristwatch from Syria and return it to his family. 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. Revealed: The Plan to Expand the Israeli Knesset by More Than Double, Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved. From the creation of Israel through, the present day, Syria has been one, if not the most, implacable of Israels enemies. become close friends. [34], The Israeli settlement Eliad on the Golan Heights is named for him.[35]. He has reached the apex of success, and it seems that there is no door he can't open. He escaped punishment due to lack of evidence. 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 information he had been providing them for years was too good to forego. Fiyaz Mughal,Eli Cohens body must be returned to Israel, The JC, (Undated). children: Irit Cohen, Shai Cohen, Sophie Cohen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxhaPGREa74. Ben-Dor was pessimistic that Israel would soon be able to retrieve her fathers body from Syria. They were caught spying for Israel in 1953 and some of them were hanged. In February 1962, Cohen moved to Damascus. "I want to ask wasn't Eli worth the price? Unfortunately, Nadia and her family are still waiting to get Elis body and have not made peace with it. in Israel, he found the job of translating weekly and monthly magazines for a man after a few months he was fired. It doesnt fit our story but I understand the situation. For more than 50 years, Nadia has fought to have her husbands body returned to Israel. In real life, Cohen was only able to return to Israel a few times during his mission. Even today Syria refuses to return his body for burial in Israel. 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. later he handed with Syrian passport in name of kamal Amin tabet, he advised to open a bank account in that name and start visiting Arab restaurants, the cinema where Arab movies are shown, and political club. I beg you my dear Nadia do not spend your life weeping for what has passed. She also said she understood and respected the show. 4 Min Read. They had a son, Daniel, and after the Six Day War they celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Based on the eucalyptus trees, Israel knew exactly where the Syrian fortifications were. When Intelligence came by a second time, he jumped at it. Nadia still holds a grudge against the 'Mossad' handlers who had sent Eli to Syria, an action that had taken him away from her, forever. 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. Eli married Iraqi Jewish Nadia Majald, sister of Hebrew author Sami Michael, in 1959. ", "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. What is perhaps most amazing about Eli Cohen is that he was genuinely liked even loved by so many of the top Syrian leaders. also learned to identify the type and age of tanks, aircraft, and cannons. The unit bombed unoccupied American and British installations, expecting that this would be considered the work of Egyptians. Show creator Gideon Raff's limited series has brought renewed attention to the life and work of Eli Cohen. Cohen was released because he was not linked with the underground. However, Eli's loyalty was scrutinized, and he faced harassment by the 'Muslim Brotherhood.' All these years, I remained faithful to him. In the show, Cohenas Thaabetbefriends Hafiz in Buenos Aires and later in Damascus helps Hafiz's Ba'ath party seize power. Cohen would pretend to be drunk to encourage such conversations, to which he paid close attention. But in 1965, he was unmasked. From 1948 until 1967, Syria firing mortar shells from the Syrian occupied Golan Heights into the Jewish settlements of the Upper Galilee below. It is for these reasons Eli Cohen is known as Israels greatest spy. He had an input into and an impact on Syrian national defense and was privy to almost all their secrets. 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 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. There is always the risk that the agent remains loyal to his original handlers and has managed to fool his new bosses. 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. 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.