It also provides 30% of Israels water sources. The Golan Heights defenses were top-secret and closed only to top military staff. But Sophie was born without seeing his father. Israel attacked the project serval time later they abandon the project in 1965. 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. Cohen's training was long and exhausting. They were caught spying for Israel in 1953 and some of them were hanged. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Israel desperately tried to have his sentence commuted, and despite requests from world leaders and Pope Paul VI for clemency, Cohen was hanged publicly in May of that year. [30], Cohen has become a national hero in Israel, and many streets and neighborhoods have been named for him. 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. Since then, Nadia has always counted on him. Saif calmly replied, Theres nothing to worry about. In February 1962, Cohen moved to Damascus. [12][16], In 2016, a Syrian group calling itself "Syrian art treasures" posted a video on Facebook showing Cohen's body after his execution.
Nadia Cohen - Life Story of Widow of Israeli Spy Eli Cohen - Facts Ninja The goal was to gather intelligence from high-ranking Syrian politicians and military officials. In 1957, Eli joined the Israel Defense Forces as a counterintelligence analyst and later applied for the Israeli intelligence agency 'Mossad,' which rejected him. The new Ba'ath government initially installed Lu'ay al-Atassi as president in March 1963. Irit does not know her father. Al-Hafidh wanted a million dollars for his services, texting: "1M for the minimum for kick start. "I am the son of the only person on this planet who knows where the remains are buried," he told Newshub in an interview. Cohen was born in 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt to a devout Mizrahi Jewish and Zionist family. [12], He was then given a false identity as a Syrian businessman who was returning to the country after living in Argentina. Syria tortures him but he was still lying, his face was covered with wounds, his nail was pulled out. Nevertheless, Kamal Amin Taabet (Eli Cohen) succeeded in visiting every position. The president was ousted from power a year later in 1966.
Israeli spy's widow 'hurt' by Netflix biopic, but welcomes publicity He was sent to Argentina, where he took on the guise of a businessman, scion of a Syrian family. He set up a travel agency in Tel Aviv and developed ties with the upper echelons of Israeli society, including politicians. Still, the memory of those domestic joys sustains Cohen while hes away. The daughter of legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen said Sunday it hurt to watch the new Netflix series about her fathers life and execution in Syria, lamenting some historical inaccuracies in the adaptation but praising Sacha Baron Cohens performance. The unit bombed unoccupied American and British installations, expecting that this would be considered the work of Egyptians. [12][20][21] Cohen was able to find out that the Syrians planned to divert the Jordan River headwaters in an attempt to deprive Israel of water resources, providing information to Israeli forces that enabled them to destroy the equipment prepared for the task. Their youngest child, Shai, was only 21 days old then. They even started to organize a ceremony for Eli at the 'Mossad' headquarters in Glilot. Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Spy. Eli Cohenbecame certain that Israel had spied in the Syrian government.
It was after Atassi resigned on July 27 that Hafiz was named president. [5], His parents and three brothers left for Israel in 1949, but he remained to finish a degree in electronics and coordinate Jewish and Zionist activities. One of them was Colonel Amin al-Hafaz, a supporter of the secular-leftist Baath party. Text messages sent from an NZSIS agent called "Carl" appear to show him brokering a deal. For a while, Cohen tried his hand at civilian life. The condom was used as a timing tool for mixed chemicals and produce a minor burst of fire. But his knowledge of. He reminded me of my father sometimes, she added. 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.
Where Is Nadia Cohen Now? Spy Eli Cohen Wife Love Story - Refinery29 . He was promised support in any venture he might wish to undertake, and the generous sums of cash which he appeared to possess appealed to the unscrupulous who thought he could provide grease to their financial ambitions, as well as patriotic Syrians who hoped for an infusion of foreign capital into the Syrian state. Israel attacked the project serval time later they abandon the project in 1965. Elis larger-than-life persona has attracted many filmmakers, who have then used his story for their projects. 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. Eli's second instructor Yehuda taught him how to use a small, sophisticated radio transmitter. As depicted in Episodes 4 and 5 of The Spy, Cohen aligns with Hafiz and the Ba'ath political party to overthrow the reigning government of Syria in March 1963. Al-Gamal rushed to inform his superiors that Thabet was none other than Eli Cohen, the Alexandrian Jew. While working as an intelligence officer offer him a job with high pay, Eli didn't say no and become a secret agent. Another tutor trained him to speak Arabic. His last wish was to see a rabbi. Hence, Nissim Andabo, the elderly chief rabbi of Syria accompanied him to Marjeh Square.. After some months, Abdel Latif Hassan introduces Eli to General Amin El-Hafez, the military attache at the embassy. "Concentrate on yourself; look forward to a better future!". [24], Following the 1963 Syrian coup d'tat, newly appointed Syrian Intelligence Colonel Ahmed Suidani disliked Cohen and did not trust figures close to the Second Syrian Republic.
Eli Cohen (politician born 1972) - Wikipedia The Spy, a six-part Netflix miniseries about Cohen's life, showcases the legendary Mossad agent's relationship with his wife, Nadia (Hadar Ratzon Rotem). They successfully detected radio transmissions and were able to triangulate the transmitter. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community. He remembered and passed on to Israeli Intelligence the positioning of every Syrian gun, trench, and machine-gun nest in each Golan Heights fortification; tank traps, designed to impede any Israeli attack, were also identified and memorized for future targeting.. Cohen later. The drunk guests would often end up blabbing about their work to Cohen, who was sober but would pretend to be intoxicated. Nadia Cohen attempted to appeal for clemency at the Syrian Embassy in Paris but was turned away. 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. The Kinneret supplies Israel with most of its water needs. Sign in to stop seeing this, Sara Netanyahu accosted by protesters at Tel Aviv hair salon, extricated by police, Brides joy turns to sorrow after Elan Ganeles killed driving to her wedding, Hiker discovers 2,500-year-old ancient receipt from reign of Purim kings father, Netanyahu compares Tel Aviv protesters to settlers who set fire to Huwara. 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. He was taught high-speed evasive driving techniques, Weapons proficiency (especially with a wide variety of small arms), topography, map reading, sabotage, and, most importantly, radio transmissions and cryptography. 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. One of the ministrys directors entered the room unannounced. "Soon after, my commanding officers summoned me to my base and informed me that Eli had spoken to them about the phone number incident. He then underwent a show trial, like the Operation Susannah spies had in Egypt 12 years before., Like them, his verdict was predetermined.
[9], Cohen continued his social life as he had in Argentina, spending time in cafes listening to political gossip. He had three brothers. [9], In 1959, he married Nadia Majald, born circa 1935,[10] an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant and the sister of author Sami Michael. Al-Gamal was born in 1927 and aspired to become an actor. Today, one can see the former Syrian bunkers that remain on the Golan Heights from 1967 (as well as the tanks from 1973). At the beginning of the 1956 War, when Israel occupied the Sinai, Eli Cohen was detained by the Egyptian authorities, and was expelled from Egypt along with the remainder of Alexandrian Jews at the end of the war. Nadia believed it and went to see him off at the airport in 1961. He ultimately complied. He also requested her to remarry so that their children would have a father and she would have a partner. Ben-Dor was pessimistic that Israel would soon be able to retrieve her fathers body from Syria. The leading figure in the break-in was the head of Syrian Intelligence, Colonel Ahmed Suedani Elis nemesis. In 1965, the Syrian secret service was on high alert. But his knowledge of the Arab language and Arab culture, as well as prior work in espionage in Egypt, made him a good candidate for the Mossad. As Intelligence Chief Meir Amit said, Eli succeeded far beyond the capabilities of most other men.. The 2019 'Netflix' miniseries 'The Spy' had actor Sacha Baron Cohen portraying Eli. 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. For as little as $6/month, you will: Were really pleased that youve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month. [16][17] Mossad had carefully planned the tactics that he was to use in building relationships with high-ranking Syrian politicians, military officials, influential public figures, and the diplomatic community. He had an input into and an impact on Syrian national defense and was privy to almost all their secrets. On May 18, 1965, Eli was publicly hanged at the Marjeh Square in Damascus, Syria. He wrote a last letter to his wife before he mounted the scaffold to a seething crowd. [15], Cohen moved to Damascus in February 1962 under the alias Kamel Amin Thaabet (Arabic: ). tabet sends it to Argentina, where his friend dispatches them to Israel with a diplomatic pouch. The Arabs would have none of it and decided to divert the sources of the Jordan River which originated in Arab-held territory. In this way, the Arabs hoped to deprive Israel of the waters she would need for her national growth. She has pleaded for years and is still waiting to receive Eli's body. From 1961 to 1965, Eli transmitted crucial intelligence data, including that of the Golan Heights, to the Israeli army. The Syrians have consistently refused to do so. In January 1965, Syrian government officials announced that Eli is an Israeli spy. 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. In a display of generosity, the tabet contributed some money to build a public kitchen for the poor of Damascus. Elis connections enabled him to be taken to the Golan Heights a major strategic asset for Syria from 1948-67. 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. In 1960, he was recruited to join the Mossad for a special mission in which he was to pretend to be a Syrian businessman returning to the country after having lived in Argentina. I give you my blessing. His family is now settled in Bat Yam. Eli was brutally tortured and interrogated before he was publicly hanged on May 18, 1965, at the Marjeh Square in Damascus. In December 1956, the Jewish Agency assisted Eli to deport to Israel in a vessel. Israeli intelligence was particularly excited about Cohen . [11], The Mossad recruited Cohen after Director-General Meir Amit, looking for a special agent to infiltrate the Syrian government, came across his name while looking through the agency's files of rejected candidates, after none of the current candidates seemed suitable for the job. He died in 2009. love of country, sacrifice and about his life and my life, my children." . "Suddenly something changed there toward us.
Eli Cohen - Wikipedia In February 2007, the Turkish government offered to act as a mediator for their return. In an interview with Newshub, Al-Hafidh now says he is willing to reveal the information without the financial reward, as long as the Cohen's relatives finally have their peace. "We have six grandchildren," she says with pride as she points to a family photo on the wall. But he refused). He made friends who moved in highly influential Syrian circles, transmitting his findings back to Israel via radio. Last year, Israel was able to retrieve Cohens wristwatch from Syria and return it to his family. 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. In 1960, the national intelligence agency of Israel, 'Mossad,' approached Eli for a classified mission in Syria. He was a legend," I declare. He had been repeatedly interrogated and tortured. Click the link in that email to complete registration so you can comment. As depicted in Episodes 4 and 5 of The Spy, Cohen aligns with Hafiz and the Ba'ath political party to overthrow the reigning government of Syria in March 1963. click the link in that email to complete your registration. 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. 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 highly vigilant Russian security experts, equipped with very sensitive technical intelligence-gathering equipment, pinpointed the source of the transmissions in the Syrian capital and it was Elis home. Eli was, however, persuaded continuously by Israeli intelligence agencies to return to Syria. become close friends. Eli did go back to Syria, but his behavior changed. I think as long as Bashar Assad is in power I dont see the word progress,' she said, referring to Syrias dictator. when you were three, your family left Lebanon and moved to Egypt Alexandria.
Syria brought hydraulic engineers and diversion equipment to actualize the scheme. At these parties, Cohen "dispensed free-flowing liquor and prostitutes",[1] and highly placed officials would openly discuss their work and army plans. One of the most difficult tasks for Eli Cohen was to learn the intricate and unmistakable phonetic tune of Syrian Arabic; prior to his intelligence training, his Egyptian accent was undeniable. His trainer was an Iraqi-born Jew who had extensive experience training operatives in speaking Arabic and the traditions and Muslim customs. He worked as an accountant. 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. In the 1987 TV movie 'The Impossible Spy,' Michal Bat-Adam portrayed Nadia, while in the 2019 'Netflix' series 'The Spy,' Hadar Ratzon-Rotem played her, with Sacha Baron Cohen as Eli. Eli married Iraqi Jewish Nadia Majald, sister of Hebrew author Sami Michael, in 1959. I was more worried, Ben-Dor said of hearing that Cohen, who is known for playing comedic figures such as Borat, would star in the series. [31] A memorial stone has been erected to Cohen in the Garden of the Missing Soldiers in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/nadia-cohen-46980.php. Syrian security services led by Suidani broke into Cohen's apartment on 24 January and caught him in the middle of a transmission to Israel. Over the years, her relationship with the Mossad and that of her children, Sophie Ben-Dor, Irit Peleg and Shai Cohen, unraveled. [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. their chief noticed that their decision taken by the government was broadcast to Israel. Likud MK Eli Cohen Federation of Local Authorities conference in Tel Aviv, December 8, 2022. For 19 years, Jewish settlements in the north were under constant threat of Syrian guns. On April 15, 2019, a few Israeli news agencies published unconfirmed reports of Eli's remains being recovered in Syria and stated that the remains were with a Russian delegation.
Eli Cohen, the spy who was larger than life - The Jerusalem Post They had a son, Daniel, and after the Six Day War they celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Also in Episode 5, viewers see Hafiz assume power after demanding the resignation of Syria's then-president, Nazim al-Qudsi. the plan was doomed from staring, one of the bombs exploded in the pocket of Philip Natanson and was arrested by police and other members were caught in the following days. he supplies Eli with inside information about the political and military situation. They further said that the use of the term "partner" is generic and is applied to all those agencies with which we have contact. Cohen wasnt allowed tell anyone of the plans and told his wife that he was working abroad for Israels Defense Ministry. 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.
Eli Cohen's daughter lukewarm on 'The Spy,' but likes Sacha Baron Cohen But what happened next apparently deviates from the way it appears in the show. He was tortured, but he wouldnt give away any incriminating information about Israel. But he spent most of his time in Tel Aviv perfecting his cover and being briefed on Amans requirements of him in Syria, as well as last-minute intelligence data needed for his mission. His success in effectively penetrating the Syrian social and political/diplomatic/military strata already wildly exceeded Amans expectations of him, Cohen arrived in Damascus in February 1962, posing as a businessman from Argentina who had returned to his native land.
On September 20, 2016, an unknown Syrian group named 'Syrian Art Treasures' posted a 'Facebook' video showing Eli's body after his execution. The following year, Syria found out about Cohen by tracing his intelligence transmissions to Israel. [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. 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.". In exchange for his freedom, he agreed to work for Egypt's intelligence service. Still, Israeli Intelligence asked him to return to Syria one more time. Registering also lets you comment on articles and helps us improve your experience. 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. Learn more. In addition, the commander of Syrian Intelligence, Colonel Ahmed Suedani trusted no one and disliked Eli. Israeli foreign minister Golda Meir led a campaign urging Damascus to consider the consequences of hanging him. 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 mother. 4 Min Read. It could not let Syria succeed and planning a response. Where Is Nadia Cohen Now? One day they took Eli to visit the Syrian positions along Israel's border. Eli Cohenalso learned to identify the type and age of tanks, aircraft, and cannons. Again, I. I had gotten under his cover," said Maurice Cohen.