Do what you must, don't deprive the children of a father. [15], Cohen moved to Damascus in February 1962 under the alias Kamel Amin Thaabet (Arabic: ). 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. For two weeks Cohen was put under surveillance and was judged suitable for recruitment and training. 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. According to Maurice Cohen, this really happened. At these parties, Cohen "dispensed free-flowing liquor and prostitutes",[1] and highly placed officials would openly discuss their work and army plans. Where Is Nadia Cohen Now? "The moment that they informed me [of the watch's recovery] my mouth went dry and I got the chills," Nadia told Israeli TV. Text messages sent from an NZSIS agent called "Carl" appear to show him brokering a deal. He also requested her to remarry so that their children would have a father and she would have a partner. [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). But Sophie was born without seeing his father. In the final episode of The Spy, Cohen's brother Maurice, a Mossad analyst, confronts him after discovering he is the secret Agent 88 in Damascus. Prior to the 1952 Egyptian Revolution, Cohen was arrested and interrogated over his Zionist activities. In the show, Cohenas Thaabetbefriends Hafiz in Buenos Aires and later in Damascus helps Hafiz's Ba'ath party seize power. He carefully cultivated contacts with the Baath leadership, which included the Syrian military attach in Argentina, General Amin al-Hafaz. Cohen was born in 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt to a devout Mizrahi Jewish and Zionist family. No film or video was previously known to exist of the execution. 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. Haaretz.com, the online English edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, gives you breaking news, analyses and opinions about Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. "I have passed your response to our partners and am waiting for a reply," said the agent. Last year, Israel was able to retrieve Cohens wristwatch from Syria and return it to his family. 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.. . After Hafez became Prime Minister, Eli was even considered to be named the Syrian Deputy Minister of Defense. The complete trust Cohen enjoyed among his unwitting informants is illustrated by the following incident, which might have serious consequences for the Israeli agents. Israeli intelligence was particularly excited about Cohen . (Israel GPO), President Reuven Rivlin and Nadia Cohen, at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the death of Mossad super spy Eli Cohen, May 18, 2015. 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 January 1947, he was enlisted in the Egyptian army as an alternative to paying the mandatory sum that all young Jews had to pay. (PMO), Sacha Baron Cohen as Israeli spy Eli Cohen in The Spy (YouTube screenshot), Mossad spy Eli Cohen, executed in Syria in 1965. Syria tortures him but he was still lying, his face was covered with wounds, his nail was pulled out. Thanks". At the age of 41, Cohen was hanged in Damascus in front of a crowd of 10,000. 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. It could not let Syria succeed and planning a response. From 1961 to 1965, Eli transmitted crucial intelligence data, including that of the Golan Heights, to the Israeli army. Cohen was convicted of espionage. Nevertheless, Kamal Amin Taabet (Eli Cohen) succeeded in visiting every position. One day in 1960 Israeli Intelligence approached him about working for them again. We may recall the Egyptian-Jewish spies from the Operation Susannah fiasco. The Kinneret supplies Israel with most of its water needs. 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. He continued his social life, spending a lot of time in cafes listening to political gossip. 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). Sacha Baron Cohen, the Mossad and Netflix. It hurt. Kamal Amin Tabet hosted a glamorous party in Damascus, several ministers, a large number of general and colonel, top leaders of the Baath party, businessmen. They further said that the use of the term "partner" is generic and is applied to all those agencies with which we have contact. After his execution, a white parchment filled with anti-Zionist writing was put on his body, and he was left hanging for six hours. After several days, Eli got a new identity as Kamal Amin Tablet, son of Syrian parents, born in Beirut. He was sentenced to death. Based on the eucalyptus trees, Israel knew exactly where the Syrian fortifications were. But his knowledge of. That is, until Meir Dagan took over as chief. Unfortunately, Nadia and her family are still waiting to get Elis body and have not made peace with it. In January 1965, Syrian government officials announced that Eli is an Israeli spy. The actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has a . Likud MK Eli Cohen Federation of Local Authorities conference in Tel Aviv, December 8, 2022. After three months, Eli spoke passable Spanish, knew Buenos Aires well, dressed, and behaved like thousands of Arab immigrants living in Buenos Aires. On August 31, 1959, he married a beautiful Iraqi-born Jew, Nadia Majald. Show creator Gideon Raff's limited series has brought renewed attention to the life and work of Eli Cohen. The previous year, which marked Elis 50th death anniversary, Nadia had addressed a memorial dedicated to him. 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. 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. 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 Syrian political and military. 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. In 2016, Nadia told 'Israel Radio' that former 'Mossad' chief Meir Dagan had asked the US officials to help bring Elis remains. He arrived in Israel on February 8, 1957. The Spy alternates between Cohens risky schemes with Nadias far more ordinary life. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and moved to Israel in 1957. As Intelligence Chief Meir Amit said, Eli succeeded far beyond the capabilities of most other men.. Eli started transmitting his message to Israel daily at 8 a.m. After six months kamal Amin tabet become well known. Eli was caught in the act and there was nothing he could do. 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. Nine months later, in late 1961, Eli came back to Israel for a visit with his wife Nadia. Eli Cohen was the man for the job. The transmissions became longer as well. Cohen established his contact quickly, his letter of recommendation opened the gates to high society. [8] His most famous achievement was the tour of the Golan Heights in which he collected intelligence on the Syrian fortifications there. Melita Norwood | longest-serving British spy | Melita Norwood Book, Death, Family, Daughter | melita norwood images. Since 1992, the Golan has been up for discussion in the peace talks, but it strikes a very emotional chord among Israelis due to its historic and strategic significance, in addition to its natural beauty. children: Irit Cohen, Shai Cohen, Sophie Cohen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxhaPGREa74. Eli Cohenarrived in Buenos Aires and checked into a hotel .a local teacher would get in touch with him and teach him the Spanish language. 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 Syrian political and military hierarchy and became the chief adviser to the country's defense minister. As we saw, the Syrians continually harassed Israels northern settlements from 1948-67. Eli Cohen provided an incredible amount of intelligence data to the Israeli Army over a period of three years. To no avail. How is it that you dare allow a stranger to read a classified document? he angrily asked Saif. Their youngest child, Shai, was only 21 days old then. His remains have yet to be returned, despite pleas from his family. The border with Syria was heating up as well. Egypt has the strongest of the Arab countries and sworn enamy if Israel with the decision to evacuate Egypt, modern bases, airfield, and huge stores of equipment and war material would fall into the Egyptian army. Even today Syria refuses to return his body for burial in Israel. 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. [8], Cohen was found guilty of espionage by a military tribunal and sentenced to death under martial law. It went wrong, really wrong," he said. Registering also lets you comment on articles and helps us improve your experience. Eli Cohen was sent to Syria as an undercover agent, and he turned out to be the greatest spy to date. Meanwhile, every few days he transmitted important information to his Israeli handlers via a radio transmitter he had hidden in his room. they made great efforts to locate the secret transmission to Israel with help of Soviet-made equipment, in January 1965 they got success. She smiles. When the Golan was captured in 1967, at almost the end of the Six-Day War, settlers in the north could finally feel relieved. He has reached the apex of success, and it seems that there is no door he can't open. He had three brothers. Eli has been honored as an Israeli national hero, and many streets and neighborhoods have been named after him. Sacha Baron Cohen in 'The Spy' as Eli Cohen. 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. [12], He was then given a false identity as a Syrian businessman who was returning to the country after living in Argentina. 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. Eli Cohen's daughter Sofia Ben-Dor was excited about it because that is all they have. "You know, when I was growing up, I heard a tremendous amount about your husband. Since then, Nadia has always counted on him. Look after them, raise them up and educate them well, and don't deprive them or yourself of anything. 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. 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. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Israeli ambassador, Itzhak Gerberg, would not comment on the report.

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