Eli Cohen, in full Eliahu ben Shaoul Cohen, also called Kamal Amin Thaabet, (born 1924, Alexandria, Egyptdied May 18, 1965, Damascus, Syria), Egyptian-born Israeli spy who infiltrated the highest ranks of the Syrian military and government by posing as a Syrian businessman. Barrett is the world leader in long-range, large-caliber, precision rifle design and manufacturing. [ 11][ 12] Cohen foi enforcado no Marjeh Square em Damasco em 18 de maio de 1965. Concentrate on yourself, looking forward for a better future! In 1957, Cohen was recruited by the Israel Defense Forces, and was placed in military intelligence, where he became a counterintelligence analyst. Receive my blessings to all of you. After all, this is her lifes story. Already daily life is not [easy] and when things like this pop up, it just boggles the mind, and disturbs my soul, she added. I was born in Baghdad, Iraq. The two bought an apartment in Bat Yam and lived modestly: For the little we had, we were Simcha. There was no longer anything they could do. Eli Cohen had sacrificed everything for his people and now the badly humiliated Syrians were about to take revenge. In January 1965, Syrian efforts to find a high-level mole were stepped up. Those included the Syrian military attach, Amin al-Hafez, who would later serve as president of Syria. [1], In 2005, he was voted the 26th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis. While on his way in a truck to Al-Marjah Square, he was accompanied by Nissim Andabo, the 80-year old Chief Rabbi of Syria.[4]. After saying Kaddish to the memory of his father, his last wish was to write a farewell letter to his wife and children: Dear Nadia, my dear family, I am writing these last words to you in the hope that you will always remain united. The IDF succeeded in thwarting this plot, thanks to the information it provided me. He was a member of the Maccabi youth movement and a member of the Maccabi youth movement As a Jew with Zionist awareness, I was filled with pride at the establishment of the State of Israel, and his initial contact with the Israeli intelligence community was created in 1952 when he was twenty-eight years old.In the same period, the IDFs intelligence apparatus operated secret cells In Egypt. He would host parties and act intoxicated although he was always sober and hed ply the Syrian military officers with liquor to loosen their tongues. Could the government cancel elections? Una familia que vive el Imperio Otomano, el Mandato Britnico y la Guerra de la Independencia de Israel. He had been buying guns for the Israelis, arranging aliyah for Egyptian Jews, and he was involved with many other matters related to the Mossad. Did you have any idea of what he was doing? I ask, referring to his spy work with the Mossad. On his return to Damascus, at one of the new Syrian elite parties, he dubbed the contractor who was in charge of building the diversion facility. Read Next: On This Date in 1962, Nazi War Criminal Adolf Eichmann Hanged in Israel. The daughter of legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen said Sunday "it hurt" to watch the new Netflix series about her father's life and execution in Syria, lamenting some historical inaccuracies in. Cohen had returned to Israel in late December 1964 to be there for the birth of his son and tried to convince his bosses to let him remain. Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen itinerary in Berlin included a visit on Tuesday to the Holocaust Memorial on Cora-Berliner-Strae. , 16 December 1924 18 May 1965) (Arabic: ) was an Israeli spy. [6][16][17] The coups leader, Amin al-Hafez, continued to favour Cohen, and he reportedly considered appointing him deputy minister of defense. The politicians no longer come. The trial took place in front of a military court and closed doors. The rabbi testified that he had met a broken, yet determined, person who wanted to inform his family that he had fulfilled his duty to the end and remained faithful to his people and country. # - " " - ! He worked as a translator and an accountant before once again being recruited by Israeli intelligence in 1960. Eli Cohen (hebrisch ; * 3. Even in death there is jealousy, that [others can] embrace a grave [in mourning] and we dont even have that.. In 1964, Cohen secretly returned to his home in Bat Yam for the birth of his third child. Irit was born on 08.21.72. diam, was an Egyptian-born Israeli spy. Cohen himself was not above the spicier part of a spy's life either. For the information he gave me about the new tanks, planes and cannonsAcquired by the Syrians and the deployment of the army in the Golan, had a decisive influence on Israels victory in the northern arena in the Six-Day War, two years after his death. '", Cohen provided an incredible amount of intelligence data to the Israeli Army over a period of four years (1961-1965). In January 1965, advanced surveillance equipment for the detection of radio broadcasts arrived in Syria from the Soviet Union. The watch was part of Eli Cohens operational image and part of his fabricated Arab identity, he added. Eliyahu (Eli) Cohen, an Egyptian Jew, was born in Alexandria in 1924. But he returned for one final go at it, unaware that the Syrians had brought in Soviet radio direction finding equipment. Title Year Status . Mrs. Cohen takes a seat on the couch across from me and begins to ask us questions just the way any savta would. Hundreds were deported to Etel A year later, at the age of thirty-three, Eli and his family immigrated to Israel, many of whom came from the Jewish community in Alexandria, settling in Bat Yam because of their proximity to the sea and in accordance with their economic abilities. His fluency in Arabic, English, and French made him an attractive recruit for Israeli intelligence. Assad promised to return Cohens bones, but when he asked about it security officials told him: Sir, we dont know where the grave is, so he couldnt promise.. On the day of his execution, Cohen's 'last wish' to see a Rabbi was respected by the prison authorities. A monument was placed in his memory at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Its not like he just set foot in Israel and became a Mossad agent. Cohen received classified military briefings and was taken on tours of the Syrian fortifications in the Golan Heights. . The film The Impossible Spy is a depiction of his life. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 26, 1924, the second of eight children in a family of orthodox Jews. So while this operation wasnt anything as bold as some of their other operations, it shows that the Israelis have a very long memory and a token as this watch is as important to them as it was over 50 years ago. Would you like a drink? she asks. Before leaving, Cohen assured his wife that there would only be one more trip before he returned permanently.[3]. Meanwhile in Bat Yam, Israel, only 135 miles away from Damascus, the Cohen family, Elis mother, his wife Nadia, and his siblings, sat huddled in the living room of their crowded apartment as their husband, son, and brother was led to the gallows to be killed for his crimes. Cohen, however, was expelled from Egypt along with other Zionist Jews in the aftermath of the Suez Crisis, and he settled in Israel in 1957. Elis brother was married to our neighbors sister. Will Bibis legacy be a new constitution for Israel or civil war? Cohen made repeated visits to the southern frontier zone, providing photographs and sketches of Syrian positions. he angrily asked Saif. . What was Eli like? He was a very happy person, very smart. In 2001 Hafez in interview with Al-jazeera distanced himself from Cohen he said that such a friendship would be impossible given the fact that he had been in Moscow until 1962. Cohens widow Nadia spoke about the recovery of his watch, a few months ago, the Mossad shared with us that they had tracked down the watch, which was on sale. His name has been immortalized in numerous institutions and sites throughout the country: streets, buildings, synagogues, libraries, learning centers, parks and groves. Because of this, Cohen expressed his fear and wish to terminate his assignment in Syria during his last secret visit to Israel in November 1964 to pass intelligence and for the birth of his third child. What does your father do? As I steer the conversation back to her, I realize that although it has been 53 years since her husbands death, the years of sadness and pain have not dimmed her smile as she speaks about her late husband. He figured things out really quickly, he really liked people, especially our nation and Judaism. He was recruited by Mossad in 1961 and using a cover identity of a Syrian businessman by the name of Kamal Amin Taabet, he furnished the Israelis with a wealth of incredible intelligence, befriending some of the top Syrian government and, Cohens widow Nadia spoke about the recovery of his watch, a few months ago, the Mossad shared with us that they had tracked down the watch, which was on sale. On January 24, 1965, Syria officially announced the exposure of spy Eli Cohen. We have three children. Any grandchildren? We have six grandchildren, she says with pride as she points to a family photo on the wall. Photos of Eli Cohen can be seen all over the house, his dark soulful eyes beaming out from each snapshot. nadia cohen age. Sometimes they trusted him so much that they gave him details of embarrassing military mistakes that even the Syrian president himself had not heard of. He was arrested and tortured and put on trial where he was convicted. That proved to be his downfall. [19] Er war als Vizeprsident fr das Unternehmen Israel Land Development Company ttig. Still, Israeli Intelligence asked him to return to Syria one more time. Eli Cohen, publicly hanged in the Marjeh Square, Damascus, on 18 May 1965 Cohen was found guilty of espionage by a military tribunal and sentenced to death under martial law. Cohen learned of an important secret plan by Syria to create three successive lines of bunkers and mortars; the Israel Defense Forces would otherwise have expected to encounter only a single line. The shouting grew more thunderous as the famed spy came into view. Cohen made his desire to return to Syria well known to his new associates, and, when he moved to Damascus in 1962, his Syrian contacts helped him access the highest circles of power in Syria. After undergoing a series of harsh torture and interrogations lasting about a month, his trial began on 22 February. Despite the gravity of the state crime committed by Cohen against Syria, the authorities still allowed him to communicate letters with his wife, children and parents, while in prison. The memorial consists of a 19,000-square-meter site . With robust designs and vintage classic style, discover the heritage of military timepieces today! She discusses what the experience may tell us about Jewish obligation, history and dignity. Cohen was released because he was not linked with the underground. How old are you? Four months later, he was executed in a public hanging. He was also shomer masoret; he wasnt very religious, but he was very traditional. There was great excitement because it is essentially the only item of dad that came back, we have nothing else besides that, she said. The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem: Con Michael Aloni, Irit Kaplan, Swell Ariel Or, Hila Saada. I want the inside story of a legendary tale and Im confident that Im about to hear it. [3] Cohen took part in various Israeli covert operations in the country during the 1950s, though the Egyptian government could never verify and provide proof of 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 there. Eli was gone. "The complete trust Cohen enjoyed among his unwitting informants is illustrated by the following incident, which might have had serious consequences for Cohen. After his request to integrate into a more operational activity was rejected, he chose to try his luck in the civilian market. I walk under an archway and up the stairs leading to a white stucco home whose door is opened by Mrs. Nadia Cohen, the elderly widow of Eli Cohen. Apparently, the woman that had the watch after Cohens arrest and execution wanted to sell it. List of battleships of the United States Navy. Once registered, youll receive our Daily Edition email for free. Eli Cohen, born in 1924, was raised in a devout Jewish family in Alexandria, Egypt. We dont know where, in what place, in what country. After the Sinai Campaign in 1956, mass arrests of Jews were carried out in Egypt, and Eli was arrested for fear of revealing the secret of his visit to Israel and the course he had undergone in Israel, but when he arrived at the police station it became clear that the Egyptian authorities arrested thousands of Jews Without investigation, and he found himself with a large group of Jews in a detention camp. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ , This one may not rate up there with some of the other coups that Mossad has pulled off, like the incredible stealing of, Cohen was an Israeli spy who was initially rejected by Mossad. "Just a year ago, the distance between Ben-Gurion Airport and Khartoum was endless . And of course, the Mossad bought it and carried out all of the tests to make sure it was the right watch. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ Eli Cohen, also called Kamal Amin Thaabet, Egyptian-born Israeli spy who infiltrated the highest ranks of the Syrian military and government by posing as a Syrian businessman. If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. Cohen was offended when Mossad rejected him, and resigned from military counterintelligence. The Israeli government is still trying to get his body returned and even had the Russian government intercede on their behalf. After his death he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Cohen, for his part, brought citrus fruits and olive oil from Israel. Let there be a hero who will bring us quiet. They shut down all traffic and picked up his signal and they tracked it to his house. 2023 The Times of Israel , All Rights Reserved. Mossad Director Yossi Cohen said, We remember Eli Cohen and do not forget. You are here: Home / nadia cohen age nadia cohen age. And I believed and still did not understand. Omissions? Click the link in that email to complete registration so you can comment. He knew its leaders and was equipped with letters of recommendation, which would help him penetrate the centers of power in Damascus. Saif calmly replied, 'There's nothing to worry about. in hendrgravida Now they claim that they dont even know where it is buried. Details of his espionage tactics are classified and most probably will never be revealed to public.