Click the link in that email to complete registration so you can comment. World leaders, wealthy individuals, the Israeli government, the pope, and others all intervened on his behalf. Various reports say that Biton was unveiled and offered the option of becoming a double agent. Also in Episode 5, viewers see Hafiz assume power after demanding the resignation of Syria's then-president, Nazim al-Qudsi. He reminded me of my father sometimes, she added. In November 1965, Eli's wife wrote to Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad, requesting him to send Elis remains back to Israel. But in 1965, he was unmasked. The Syrians and their Russian advisers were alarmed by the intelligence that was seeping out of the country. I want him (Yossi Cohen) to clarify what hapepned," said the 84-year-old. The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the. He was also allowed to write a final letter to his wife. But what happened next apparently deviates from the way it appears in the show. had 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. While working as an intelligence officer offer him a job with high pay, Eli didn't say no and become a secret agent. Al-Gamal was born in 1927 and aspired to become an actor. [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. Reports earlier this year said a Russian delegation had removed his remains from Syria in an attempt to bring them to Israel. 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. His captors later remarked on his noble bearing and his courage despite the horrific Syrian interrogation methods. Eli visited other Arab friends as Abdel Latif Hassan and his briefcase was full of enthusiastic letters of recommendation. He took on the name Kamel Amin Thaabet and went to live in Argentina for some time to build a name for himself in the Syrian expat community. "His parents, Syrian Jews from the thriving town of Aleppo, had always instilled in their educationally minded son the traditions of the Jewish people, of Zionism, and of the culture of Syria's Jewish community, in particular." he transfers all operations to Mossad, Eli was now Mossad agent. As a young adult, he worked within Egypt to secretly assist other Egyptian Jews in emigrating to Israel. For more than 50 years, Nadia has fought to have her husbands body returned to Israel. The crime of obtaining secret information is kept hidden to ensure the safety of the country to benefit the enemy. . For two weeks Cohen was put under surveillance and was judged suitable for recruitment and training. They had three childrenSophie, Irit, and Shaiand the family settled in Bat Yam. Still Ben-Dor, who was four years old when her father was killed, said she was pleasantly surprised by actor Cohens portrayal. 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. 'Disturbing' footage emerges from famed Israeli spy's execution in On 29 December 2022, Cohen was sworn in as Foreign Minister alongside a new government, and will rotate the position with Israel Katz. But his knowledge of. Cohen's astonishing undercover career lasted for four years. It, however, did not change the situation. Thats when he met Nadia Majald, an Iraqi-born Jewish woman who lived near his brother and his wife. Meanwhile, every few days he transmitted important information to his Israeli handlers via a radio transmitter he had hidden in his room. Cohen accepted the calling. 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. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 26, 1924, the second of eight children in a family of orthodox Jews. 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. [27] Syrian authorities have repeatedly denied family requests for the remains. He then moved to Damascus in February 1962, under his new identity, Kamel Amin Thaabet, to extract classified information from Syrian military officers. Eli Cohen was first sent to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to establish his cover as a Syrian emigre. Qudsi was ousted from power as a result of the March 8 coup, but Hafiz did not take power until months later. Cohen was released because he was not linked with the underground. He is being executed according to the two articles 158 and 159 of the military penal code, and articles 271, 272, and 274 of the general penal code. For the next two years, he worked as a filing clerk in a Tel Aviv insurance office. 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.. One of the ministrys directors entered the room unannounced. We may recall the Egyptian-Jewish spies from the Operation Susannah fiasco. [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. She also said she understood and respected the show. 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. In 1965, the Syrian secret service was on high alert. Ahead of the mission, Cohen had to learn to speak Arabic in a Syrian accent rather than his native Egyptian. 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. Israeli foreign minister Golda Meir led a campaign urging Damascus to consider the consequences of hanging him. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/nadia-cohen-46980.php. "Their ages range from four and a half to 32." "You must be very proud," I offer. The spy who never came home - The Jewish Chronicle 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. 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. In February 1962, Cohen moved to Damascus. I am begging you my dear Nadia not to spend your time in weeping about some thing already passed. It was after Atassi resigned on July 27 that Hafiz was named president. Eli has been honored as an Israeli national hero, and many streets and neighborhoods have been named after him. 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. His successes couldn't be vocally shared with his family, however. Israeli spy's widow 'hurt' by Netflix biopic but hopes it will help 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. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Israeli ambassador, Itzhak Gerberg, would not comment on the report. 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. He became a confidante of George Saif, high up in the Ministry of Information. In January 1965, Syrian security services broke into Eli's apartment, where he was caught while he was escaping to Israel. Eli Cohen (politician born 1972) - Wikipedia 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). He made friends who moved in highly influential Syrian circles, transmitting his findings back to Israel via radio. 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. In 1959, he married Nadia Majald, born circa 1935, [10] an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant and the sister of author Sami Michael. Its waters flow into the Sea of Galilee (the Kinneret) and south to the Dead Sea. 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. Intelligence created a completely new identity for him. When the Baath took power in 1963, Eli was firmly entrenched in Syrian high society. To no avail. The melting winter snows produce a huge run-off of water which makes the Golan a beautifully verdant area in the late winter and spring and irrigates the Hula and Jordan Valleys below. The previous year, which marked Elis 50th death anniversary, Nadia had addressed a memorial dedicated to him. 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. But he refused). [28] The press announced on 5 July 2018 that Cohen's wristwatch had been retrieved from Syria. 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.Even today Syria refuses to return his body for burial in Israel. [29] Mossad director Yossi Cohen presented it to Cohen's family in a ceremony, and it is currently on display at Mossad headquarters. "The Spy" depicts Egyptian-born Cohen - played by Sacha Baron Cohen - as an ambitious, Arabic-speaking immigrant to Israel who is recruited by Mossad and, overcoming his fears and the strains on his family, infiltrates the Damascus high command by posing as a rich scion of the Syrian diaspora. [6] Cohen spoke five languages fluently. For a while, Cohen tried his hand at civilian life. And much of the credit for Israels ability to capture the Golan was due to Eli Cohen, Israels greatest spy. If you've already watched all of The Spy and are curious to know more about Cohen, then these accounts of the real-life Cohen might make for curious reading. 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. (Haim Zach/GPO). They even started to organize a ceremony for Eli at the 'Mossad' headquarters in Glilot. 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. Eli Cohen, the spy who was larger than life - The Jerusalem Post However, running a double agent is considered to be one of the most complex missions in intelligence work. [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. Elis friendship with Amin al-Hafez proved very valuable. Eli Cohen was the man for the job. By 1960, however, Israeli Intelligence was ready to take another look at Eli Cohen. A memorial stone has been erected in the 'Garden of the Missing Soldiers' in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, to commemorate him. Do what you must, don't deprive the children of a father. In 1954, Egyptian authorities arrested Eli for being a terror suspect. Nine months later, in late 1961, Eli came back to Israel for a visit with his wife Nadia. Syria has not even disclosed the location of Eli's grave. According to the report, Mossad agents were on their way to Auckland, with one text saying: "Wait for our partners to arrive before making a decision.". Revealed: The Plan to Expand the Israeli Knesset by More Than Double, Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved. they let him see fortification and the bunkers, weapon concentrated in the area, and their offensive plans.l lieutenant Zaher Al-Din took Eli to the El Hama military camp, where large quantities of new weapons had been stored. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [7] Cohen is married, has four children and lives in Holon. If I wanted something, I called, they put me through to him immediately. They had a son, Daniel, and after the Six Day War they celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. After some months, Abdel Latif Hassan introduces Eli to General Amin El-Hafez, the military attache at the embassy. In 1963, during a business trip to Germany, he met Weltrude Scheffeldt, a divorcee, then 22 and with a small child, and married her. they let him see fortification and the bunkers, weapon concentrated in the area, and their offensive plans.l lieutenant. Maurice Cohen told his brother he had a new phone line installed in his house and "gave the number of his apartment in Damascus, which I had received in a message just before he'd come home.". 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. Eli Cohen - Wikipedia They observed a period of radio silence, in the hope that any illegal transmissions could be identified. They had three childrenSophie, Irit, and Shaiand the family settled in Bat Yam. Eli, after all, was born in an Arab country, had oriental features, was known to be selfless and fearless in pursuit of a cause, and had knowledge of Arabic, English, and French. 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 . Al-Hafidh then sent his bank details, but the deal went cold. According to Scheffeldt, al-Gamal wrote in his memoirs of his friendship with Marcelle Ninio, who was sentenced to four years in prison for her role in the Jewish Underground, and also about Eli Cohen. The Syrian project to divert water from the headwaters of the Jordan away from Israel was mentioned already in the above introduction. Cohen's training was long and exhausting. 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. While there, he gained the trust of Amin al-Hafez, who would later become Syrias president. Diplomats, prime ministers, parliamentarians, and Pope Paul VI tried to intercede. What is perhaps most amazing about Eli Cohen is that he was genuinely liked even loved by so many of the top Syrian leaders. Eli Cohen was now a member of the inner circle of power. Eli Cohen - Jewish Virtual Library After the Israel Independence War In 1954, the British pull out of Egypt completely. "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. Syria brought hydraulic engineers and diversion equipment to actualize the scheme. She was told he would be completely safe, and she believed that until his capture in 1965. Syrian counterintelligence eventually uncovered the spy conspiracy and convicted Cohen under pre-war martial law, sentencing him to death and hanging him publicly in 1965. Fiyaz Mughal,Eli Cohens body must be returned to Israel, The JC, (Undated). In 1963, during a business trip to Germany, he met Weltrude Scheffeldt, a divorcee, then 22 and with a small child, and married her. It says this "does not imply any special relationship or endorsement". 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. Nadia was told that Eli was working for the ministry of defense and would be completely safe. In January 1965, Syrian security officers broke into Elis apartment while he was in the middle of his escape to Israel. Our website uses cookies to improve your experience. For as little as $6/month, you will: Were really pleased that youve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month. At Kfar Habad, on July 29, 1977, at the joint Bar Mitzvah for 100 fatherless boys, in the presence of Prime Minister. . 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. Cohen (Sacha Baron Cohen) was the kind of guy to leave his wife spontaneous love letters throughout the house. - From Eli Cohen's last letter to his wife Nadia and his children, written an hour before his execution in Damascus. 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. The message was passed on to the Syrians, who arrested Cohen. He did not object, in fact, to the idea of a ladies man reputation. She has pleaded for years and is still waiting to receive Eli's body. In February 2007, a Turkish official assured assistance to Eli's family to get back his body. In Episode 5, Cohen's playboy-esque Thaabet hosts a sex party at his apartment to distract key government and military officials while the Ba'ath Party's military committee seizes power in Damascus. you lived with your uncle and worked as a travel agency, later were very successful. After weeks of surveillance, he was finalized and was put to training. 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. Meir even appealed to the Soviet Union. Please use the following structure: example@domain.com, Send me The Times of Israel Daily Edition. Israel's minister of defense Pinhas Lavon and colonel Benyamin Gibli head of military intelligence, concocted a dangerous and foolish plan if several terrorist bombings were swept Egypt, the British will return to its former bases and concluded that Egypt's couldn't maintain law and order. I think as long as Bashar Assad is in power I dont see the word progress,' she said, referring to Syrias dictator. Nadia Cohen attempted to appeal for clemency at the Syrian Embassy in Paris but was turned away. [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. 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. 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. He worked as an accountant and translator. She understood from him that he would be working for the Ministry of Defense, but she didnt know where or in what capacity. 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. He was supposed to stay in Buenos Aires as a Syrian migr businessman named Kamal Amin Taabet. Nadia believed it and went to see him off at the airport in 1961. 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. thus Israel needed an agent in Damascus (Sami Micheal, Nadia Cohen's brother was recruited. Concentrate on yourself, looking forward for a better future! He escaped punishment due to lack of evidence.
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