The three major tributaries of the upper Jordan River the Dan, the Baniyas, and the Hatzbani all originate in the Golan. 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. Get email notification for articles from Yossi Melman, Reproduction of an Israeli stamp being issued to honour the Mossad intelligence agency spy Eli Cohen who was hanged in Damascus. In February 2007, a Turkish official assured assistance to Eli's family to get back his body. He was convicted in a trial without a defense and sentenced to death. Syria brought hydraulic engineers and diversion equipment to actualize the scheme. We may recall the Egyptian-Jewish spies from the Operation Susannah fiasco. 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. They had a son, Daniel, and after the Six Day War they celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Cohen was arrested in January 1965 while transmitting to his handlers.
He then underwent a show trial, like the Operation Susannah spies had in Egypt 12 years before., Like them, his verdict was predetermined. [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. 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. 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. He wrote a last letter to his wife before he mounted the scaffold to a seething crowd. also learned to identify the type and age of tanks, aircraft, and cannons. One day Cohen was sitting in Saifs office reading a classified document while the Syrian was on the phone. It went wrong, really wrong," he said. The Syrians have consistently refused to do so. Israel could not survive without Jordan's water. 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. It could not let Syria succeed and planning a response. He made friends who moved in highly influential Syrian circles, transmitting his findings back to Israel via radio. His final visit was in 1964. Over the years, Nadia has made several efforts to seek a bit of mercy from Syrian officials. [4], Cohen provided an extensive amount and wide range of intelligence data for the Israeli Army between 1961 and 1965. Eli Cohen (pictured, at center) was born in Egypt in 1924 to Jewish parents who had immigrated to Alexandria from Aleppo, Syria. Even today Syria refuses to return his body for burial in Israel. In November 1964, Tel Dan Syria open fire on Israel tractors in the demilitarized zone. 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. Two of them were Abraham and Maurice. Nadia believed it and went to see him off at the airport in 1961. It hurt. "Concentrate on yourself; look forward to a better future!". Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and moved to Israel in 1957. The Syrians and their Russian advisers were alarmed by the intelligence that was seeping out of the country. Learn more. Cohen would then send intelligence back to Israel using a hidden radio transmitter. 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. But changes were taking place in the Syrian Government that alarmed Eli. Al-Gamal rushed to inform his superiors that Thabet was none other than Eli Cohen, the Alexandrian Jew. Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Spy. In January 1965, Syrian security services broke into Eli's apartment, where he was caught while he was escaping to Israel. The border with Syria was heating up as well. 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. For a while, Cohen tried his hand at civilian life. Eli Cohenhad 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. 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). Cohen's astonishing undercover career lasted for four years. [34], The Israeli settlement Eliad on the Golan Heights is named for him.[35]. In the name of the Syrian Arab people, The Military court has decided in its meeting which was held on Muharram 7th, 1385 - May 8th, 1965 to sentence Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen, a resident of Tel Aviv in Occupied Palestine, to death for committing the following crimes: The crime of disguised entry into a military location. After the Israel Independence War In 1954, the British pull out of Egypt completely. It was hard to see the distance from the truth in some parts of the series, Sophie Ben-Dor said in an interview with Channel 12 news. Israel could be the target of an aggressive attack by a larger, better Egyptian army that wanted to avenge its shameful defect in the Israel Independence War. It takes just a few seconds.
In 'The Spy,' Sacha Baron Cohen Gets Serious : NPR they carry out several bombings in Cairo and Alexandria, targeting libraries and cultural centers, cinemas, post offices. I give you my blessing. Over the years, her relationship with the Mossad and that of her children, Sophie Ben-Dor, Irit Peleg and Shai Cohen, unraveled. Nadia, however, never remarried. In the short periods he came home he wanted to absorb all the love from his children, he even smelt their scent to stay with him, and he wanted to give all the love possible, like a father to his children. His wife, Nadia, would be left a widow with three very young children. 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 was driven to the airport, where his wife Nadia saw him off. try to make as many friends as possible, and establish contact with Arab leaders. Cohen was born and raised in Egypt and was expelled to Israel in 1956.
Unending Agony for Legendary Spy Eli Cohen and His Widow He genuinely fit into life in the Syrian capital, and he was never suspected of being a spy until almost the very end. The news spread everywhere that the Syrian leader is a spy, a president friend, a millionaire. Cohen had aided the unit and was implicated, but they found no link between him and the perpetrators. [5] He studied at Cairo Farouk University. 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. Their youngest child, Shai, was only 21 days old then. According to Scheffeldt, Cohen and al-Gamal were arrested together in 1954 and released shortly after. 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. (PMO), Sacha Baron Cohen as Israeli spy Eli Cohen in The Spy (YouTube screenshot), Mossad spy Eli Cohen, executed in Syria in 1965. He became a confidante of George Saif, high up in the Ministry of Information. He did not object, in fact, to the idea of a ladies man reputation. On January 25, 2000, Nadia presented a picture of a new postage stamp with Elis face, to Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak, honoring her husband. 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. 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. [8], Cohen was found guilty of espionage by a military tribunal and sentenced to death under martial law. 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. 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. They were caught spying for Israel in 1953 and some of them were hanged. [8] His most famous achievement was the tour of the Golan Heights in which he collected intelligence on the Syrian fortifications there. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? According to an unconfirmed but widely believed story, he feigned sympathy for the soldiers exposed to the sun and had trees planted at every position, placed to provide shade. During their exchange, Cohen signs off by asking, "Did N get the Singer?"
Eli Cohen The Most Successful Name in The History of Espionage In order to capture the Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War, Israeli soldiers had to knock out a number of well-fortified Syrian outposts. 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. Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen (Hebrew: , Arabic: ; 6 December 1924 18 May 1965), commonly known as Eli Cohen, was an Egyptian-born Israeli spy. Thus, he wished to terminate his assignment in Syria. Before leaving, Cohen assured his wife it would be his last trip before he returned home permanently.
'I know where Eli Cohen is buried,' says alleged son of ex - ynetnews Eli studied at a local Jewish community school and then attended the 'University of Alexandria' to study electrical engineering.
Israeli spy's widow 'hurt' by Netflix biopic, but welcomes publicity I am writing you these last words, minutes before my end, with the hope that you stay together forever. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/eli-cohen-16869.php. In 1960, Cohen was approached by the Mossad for a mission in Syria. Where Is Nadia Cohen Now? He was also allowed to write a final letter to his wife. 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. But his knowledge of. 4 Min Read.
Why Mossad's Retrieval of Eli Cohen's Watch Matters - SOFREP His first assignment was to infiltrate the Jewish community of Alexandria. He was eventually exposed and captured by Syrian Intelligence in 1965, sentenced to death and hung at Damascus' main square. He reminded me of my father sometimes, she added.
Eli Cohen Wife, Children | Israeli Spy biography | Last Letter to his [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. [18], Cohen made repeated visits to the southern frontier zone, providing photographs and sketches of Syrian positions.
The True Story Behind The Spy on Netflix | Time I beg my wife to forgive me, to take care of herself and our children. "I want to ask wasn't Eli worth the price? Al-Hafidh claims he was in negotiations with the Mossad to reveal the information, but wanted $1million for his services which the intelligence agency refused to pay. She understood from him that he would be working for the Ministry of Defense, but she didnt know where or in what capacity. He carefully cultivated contacts with the Baath leadership, which included the Syrian military attach in Argentina, General Amin al-Hafaz. [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. Instead, he joined the Egyptian merchant marine and was involved in a number of scams, which resulted in his arrest by the Egyptian secret service in 1952. [27] Syrian authorities have repeatedly denied family requests for the remains. Eli Cohen's son, Shaul, was only 2 weeks old when he last saw his father.
Fifty-Five Years without Eli Cohen | Tuvia Book | The Blogs With time he was taken even more into the confidence of the highest echelons of power. Eli Cohen was now a member of the inner circle of power. Cohen accepted the calling. Qudsi was ousted from power as a result of the March 8 coup, but Hafiz did not take power until months later. 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. He also held parties at his home for high-placed Syrian ministers, businessmen, and others. After several days, Eli got a new identity as Kamal Amin Tablet, son of Syrian parents, born in Beirut. Cohen established his contact quickly, his letter of recommendation opened the gates to high society. When the Golan was captured in 1967, at almost the end of the Six-Day War, settlers in the north could finally feel relieved. [12][16], In 2016, a Syrian group calling itself "Syrian art treasures" posted a video on Facebook showing Cohen's body after his execution. 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. But within a month he had lost his Tel Aviv-based accountancy job. Eli kept transmitting reports of a military character, top military orders, reports on new weapons to Israel. As a young adult, he worked within Egypt to secretly assist other Egyptian Jews in emigrating to Israel. [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. In 1963, during a business trip to Germany, he met Weltrude Scheffeldt, a divorcee, then 22 and with a small child, and married her. Given their history of a paper trail, its fitting but heartbreaking to learn that their final exchange also took place over written correspondence. Eli's second instructor Yehuda taught him how to use a small, sophisticated radio transmitter.
Nadia Cohen: The Untold Story of the wife of Eli Cohen "I am the son of the only person on this planet who knows where the remains are buried," he told Newshub in an interview. Al-Hafidh wanted a million dollars for his services, texting: "1M for the minimum for kick start. Speaking to Cohen's brother, and to Israeli and Syrian intelligence experts, Sputnik has pieced together a new look at the superspy's incredible life story. In 1960, the national intelligence agency of Israel, 'Mossad,' approached Eli for a classified mission in Syria. At Kfar Habad, on July 29, 1977, at the joint Bar Mitzvah for 100 fatherless boys, in the presence of Prime Minister. 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. "My darling Nadia, and my dear family,I am writing you these last words, minutes before my end, with the hope that you stay together forever.I beg my wife to forgive me, to take care of herself and our children. "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. In 1963, new Ramdas replaced Meir Amit for a few months in charge of both a man and Mossad. Based on the eucalyptus trees, Israel knew exactly where the Syrian fortifications were. Melita Norwood | longest-serving British spy | Melita Norwood Book, Death, Family, Daughter | melita norwood images. While working as an intelligence officer offer him a job with high pay, Eli didn't say no and become a secret agent. 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 exchange for his freedom, he agreed to work for Egypt's intelligence service. For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members. 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. Hafiz ordered Cohen's execution after he was convicted of espionage in 1965. Do what you must, don't deprive the children of a father. 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. He soon established himself in the social and cultural life of the Syrian community of Buenos Aires and was known as a wealthy businessman who was generous, tipped well, and loved the night life. I am begging you my dear Nadia not to spend your time in weeping about some thing already passed. He had been repeatedly interrogated and tortured. 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. 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. 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 . The newly appointed Syrian intelligence colonel, Ahmed Su'edani, disliked Eli. After his execution, a white parchment filled with anti-Zionist writing was put on his body, and he was left hanging for six hours.
In the footsteps of a spy: Exploring the Golan's Eli Cohen Trail 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. In February 2007, the Turkish government offered to act as a mediator for their return. They warned me not to discuss the issue with Eli anymore and to share his secret with no one.". Nevertheless, Kamal Amin Taabet (Eli Cohen) succeeded in visiting every position. [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. But it . 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. [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. By Lianne Back. 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. For 19 years, Jewish settlements in the north were under constant threat of Syrian guns. His captors later remarked on his noble bearing and his courage despite the horrific Syrian interrogation methods.
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