https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/nadia-cohen-46980.php. For two weeks Cohen was put under surveillance and was judged suitable for recruitment and training. It is for these reasons Eli Cohen is known as Israels greatest spy. After a few months, Eli was visited by George Salem Seif, a radio show host in charge of radio Damascus broadcast for Syrian abord. The Syrian officer readily agreed and Eli immediately passed the information onto Israel. Cohen had aided the unit and was implicated, but they found no link between him and the perpetrators. But the intelligence officers convinced him to go back one last time. He genuinely fit into life in the Syrian capital, and he was never suspected of being a spy until almost the very end. After three months, Eli spoke passable Spanish, knew Buenos Aires well, dressed, and behaved like thousands of Arab immigrants living in Buenos Aires. Years later, in February 2007, a Turkish official confirmed that the government had agreed to look into the matter of returning Eli's remains to his family. [9], Cohen continued his social life as he had in Argentina, spending time in cafes listening to political gossip. Intelligence created a completely new identity for him. "It works with a range of international intelligence agencies,'' the NZSIS said in response. [19] He also learned of a secret plan to create three successive lines of bunkers and mortars; the Israel Defense Forces would otherwise have expected to encounter only a single line. On September 20, 2016, an unknown Syrian group named 'Syrian Art Treasures' posted a 'Facebook' video showing Eli's body after his execution. he goes abroad for business and meets Nadia and Sophie in Bat Yam. Israel attacked the project serval time later they abandon the project in 1965. Cohen accepted the calling. Eli Cohen was sent to Syria as an undercover agent, and he turned out to be the greatest spy to date. 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. 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. Again, I. 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. When Intelligence came by a second time, he jumped at it. A number were only released 14 years later, after the 1967 War. In 1962 Eli cohen was in Damascus with crowded mosques and colorful souks, he rented a luxurious villa in the classy Abu Ramen neighborhood, close to the Syrian embassy. Likud MK Eli Cohen Federation of Local Authorities conference in Tel Aviv, December 8, 2022. They were caught spying for Israel in 1953 and some of them were hanged. But his knowledge of. 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. Israel tried to obtain the cooperation of her Arab neighbors for the plan, but the Arabs would not agree, even when the United States tried to use its diplomatic leverage for the furtherance of the plan. The border with Syria was heating up as well. Eli had lost his friends, in 1957 he immigrates to Israel. Despite her criticism of the series, Ben-Dor said she understood why the shows creators took artistic license with her fathers story. His remains have yet to be returned, despite pleas from his family. A New Zealander claiming to the son of a former Syrian president, says he knows the whereabouts of the executed Israeli spy's remains, according to a report on New Zealand news service Newshub on Sunday. Nadia and 'Mossad' were on bad terms until Meir Dagan was made the agencys chief. This article was originally published in May 2005 and republished to coincide with the release of "The Spy" - a Netflix series about Eli Cohen's life. As Intelligence Chief Meir Amit said, Eli succeeded far beyond the capabilities of most other men.. But an interview published in the Cairo Times yesterday with the German-born Weltrude Scheffeldt-Biton suggests that Egyptian intelligence played the most important role in unmasking Cohen. After some months, Abdel Latif Hassan introduces Eli to General Amin El-Hafez, the military attache at the embassy. 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. 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. In 1967, the Israelis were able to conquer the Golan Heights in two days in part due to the intelligence he provided. 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. they let him see fortification and the bunkers, weapon concentrated in the area, and their offensive plans.l lieutenant. Eli Cohen was now a member of the inner circle of power. After the Israel Independence War In 1954, the British pull out of Egypt completely. Cohen wrote in his final letter on 15 May 1965:[7]. In February 2007, the Turkish government offered to act as a mediator for their return. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? He ultimately complied. [12], He was then given a false identity as a Syrian businessman who was returning to the country after living in Argentina. The Spy is streaming globally on Netflix. I understand and respect [it], she said in a separate interview earlier Sunday with the network. For 19 years, Jewish settlements in the north were under constant threat of Syrian guns. In January 1965, Syrian security services broke into Eli's apartment, where he was caught while he was escaping to Israel. But changes were taking place in the Syrian Government that alarmed Eli. Periodically Eli would return to Israel to speak with his Israeli handlers and visit his wife and small children. Every morning, Eli would leave home and head for the Aman training center. 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. 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. 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. But Sophie was born without seeing his father. Revealed: The Plan to Expand the Israeli Knesset by More Than Double, Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Eli Cohen provided an incredible amount of intelligence data to the Israeli Army over a period of three years. Scheffeldt, 63, is the widow of Rifa'at al-Gamal, an Egyptian spy who reportedly operated in Israel for a number of years. 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. By 1960, however, Israeli Intelligence was ready to take another look at Eli Cohen. 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. Unlike other news outlets, we havent put up a paywall. The execution was recorded on 35mm film. We may recall the Egyptian-Jewish spies from the Operation Susannah fiasco. Returning to Nadia is Cohens ultimate goal. 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. "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 emigrated to Israel with the assistance of the Jewish Agency. "The moment that they informed me [of the watch's recovery] my mouth went dry and I got the chills," Nadia told Israeli TV. Spouse/Ex-: Eli Cohen (m. 1959-1965) children: Irit Cohen, Shai Cohen, Sophie Cohen Born Country: Iraq Family Members Iraqi Female Life with Eli Nadia (born Nadia Majald) is an Iraqi Jew who got married to Eli on August 31, 1959. He then moved to Damascus in February 1962, under his new identity, Kamel Amin Thaabet, to extract classified information from Syrian military officers. Nadia, understandably, has remained fixated on her loss. Nadia Cohen attempted to appeal for clemency at the Syrian Embassy in Paris but was turned away. "This cooperation brings significant benefits to New Zealand's national security, we help them (Mossad), and they help us," they added. It also provides 30% of Israels water sources. He says the spies wanted him to try and talk to his father's close friends or provide insight. The agent replied: "Will do, thanks K". While Eli was not directly involved with the Operation Susannah spies, he was involved with pro-Israel activity, and he was brutally questioned by Egypts Intelligence Services. Ben-Dor was pessimistic that Israel would soon be able to retrieve her fathers body from Syria. For more than 50 years, Nadia has fought to have her husbands body returned to Israel. He lasted until just July that year when he resigned in protest of the Ba'ath military committee executing dissenting rivals who tried to stage a coup for power. Fortunately, several were easy to spot, for they . 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.". [5] He studied at Cairo Farouk University. She also said she understood and respected the show. In real life, Cohen was only able to return to Israel a few times during his mission. They warned me not to discuss the issue with Eli anymore and to share his secret with no one.". The alleged son says the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) contacted him two years ago believing he has clues to the secret location, which his father had apparently taken to the grave. when you were three, your family left Lebanon and moved to Egypt Alexandria. 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. His work bored him and he attempted to join the Mossad, but he was offended when the Mossad rejected him, and he resigned from military counter-intelligence. Eli Cohen was born in Egypt in 1924 to Jewish parents, who had migrated to Alexandria from Syria. 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. Over the years, Nadia has made several efforts to seek a bit of mercy from Syrian officials. he soon became a well-known figure in the Arab circle. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 26, 1924. [4], Cohen provided an extensive amount and wide range of intelligence data for the Israeli Army between 1961 and 1965. Cohen established his contact quickly, his letter of recommendation opened the gates to high society. He had three brothers. 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. Nadia Majald, and together they had three children. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion, Antoni Porowski Talks New Cookbook, Recipes and Tradition in Cooking, Netflix's 'The Spy': Eli Cohen's Remains Still a Mystery, How to Watch True Crime Series 'Unbelievable' on Netflix. In August 2008, Assad's former bureau chief, Monthir Maosily, revealed that Eli had been buried thrice and that Israel would never receive his body. 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. Elis friendship with Amin al-Hafez proved very valuable. Recalling Elis final days, Nadia states he was in Bat Yam, with her and the three babies. 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. they carry out several bombings in Cairo and Alexandria, targeting libraries and cultural centers, cinemas, post offices. Even after the blown operation led to the demise of the Operation Susannah spies, Eli Cohen left Egypt for Israel to undergo intensive espionage training in the summer of 1955. He was quickly able to infiltrate the highest levels of Syrian society. I give you my blessing. Thanks". I give you my blessing. With time he was taken even more into the confidence of the highest echelons of power. After his execution, a white parchment filled with anti-Zionist writing was put on his body, and he was left hanging for six hours. Eli found out about Syria's secret plan to attack the Israeli defense forces. [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). (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. The Syrians have consistently refused to do so. For four years, Cohen posed as a Syrian textile businessman named Kamal Amin Thabet, first in Argentina and later in Damascus. She has pleaded for years and is still waiting to receive Eli's body. 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. He returned home to his family only a few times during his mission. Eli Cohen was the man for the job. While working as an intelligence officer offer him a job with high pay, Eli didn't say no and become a secret agent. Foreign Minister Eli Cohen heads to Germany Tuesday as part of Israel's campaign to halt Iran's . 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. Cohen was arrested in January 1965 while transmitting to his handlers. But in 2018, Cohens watch was retrieved in a secret Mossad scheme. The text messages between Khalid and the NZSIS. Elis connections enabled him to be taken to the Golan Heights a major strategic asset for Syria from 1948-67. 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. According to his fictional biography, in 1948 the family moved to Argentina, where they opened a successful textile business. Kamal Amin Taabets (Eli Cohen) return to Syria would ostensibly be the fulfillment of a lifelong patriotic dream. The drunk guests would often end up blabbing about their work to Cohen, who was sober but would pretend to be intoxicated. He has reached the apex of success, and it seems that there is no door he can't open. Recruitment into the Mossad. In 1963, new Ramdas replaced Meir Amit for a few months in charge of both a man and Mossad. In exchange for his freedom, he agreed to work for Egypt's intelligence service. Born Country:- Iraq Wife/Husband/Ex:- Eli Cohen (m. 1959-1965) Children:- Irit Cohen, Shai Cohen, Sophie Cohen Nadia Cohen is the widow of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who spied in Syria by posing as a wealthy merchant during the early 1960s before being caught and hanged to death publicly. Nadia, however, never remarried. one after the other 69 people were arrested. His last wish was to see a rabbi. Hence, Nissim Andabo, the elderly chief rabbi of Syria accompanied him to Marjeh Square.. he supplies Eli with inside information about the political and military situation. one evening he met one gentleman, Abdel Latif Hassan, editor in chief of Arab world magazine publish in Argentina. 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. 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 would also lend money to government officials, and many came to him for advice. Cohen's brothers Abraham and Maurice led a campaign to return his remains; Maurice died in 2006, and Nadia now leads it. He made friends with many of the guests and ended up receiving classified military briefings and visiting Syrian military sites. Israel could not survive without Jordan's water. He was tortured, but he wouldnt give away any incriminating information about Israel. It says this "does not imply any special relationship or endorsement". They had three childrenSophie, Irit, and Shaiand the family settled in Bat Yam. [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. He then left the university and continued his studies at home. 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. They successfully detected radio transmissions and were able to triangulate the transmitter. In 1960, Cohen was approached by the Mossad for a mission in Syria. Based on the eucalyptus trees, Israel knew exactly where the Syrian fortifications were. "Their ages range from four and a half to 32." "You must be very proud," I offer. thus Israel needed an agent in Damascus (Sami Micheal, Nadia Cohen's brother was recruited. [34], The Israeli settlement Eliad on the Golan Heights is named for him.[35]. Eli himself was not above the spicier part of a spys life either. Cohen immigrated to Israel in 1957 and was recruited by Military Intelligence, to a unit that later became part of the Mossad. The Israeli government and Cohens widow have for many years sought the return of Elis body. I think as long as Bashar Assad is in power I dont see the word progress,' she said, referring to Syrias dictator. Eliyahu (Eli) Cohen, an Egyptian Jew, was born in Alexandria in 1924. Prior to the 1952 Egyptian Revolution, Cohen was arrested and interrogated over his Zionist activities. Last Friday marked the 53rd anniversary of the execution of Eli Cohen, the Egyptian-born Israeli spy who burrowed his way so deep into the Syrian state apparatus he nearly came to head it. Unfortunately, Nadia and her family are still waiting to get Elis body and have not made peace with 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. Eli's second instructor Yehuda taught him how to use a small, sophisticated radio transmitter. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 26, 1924, the second of eight children in a family of orthodox Jews. However, running a double agent is considered to be one of the most complex missions in intelligence work. children: Irit Cohen, Shai Cohen, Sophie Cohen, place of death: Al Marjeh Square, Damascus, Syria, See the events in life of Eli Cohen in Chronological Order, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubQ6b-9OewI, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ9cUmvkgmg. 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. This week, KAN 11 began broadcasting a documentary series "Lochem 566," (Fighter 566, Cohen's Mossad codename). The Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, plans to name one of the buildings in its compound after Eli Cohen - its spy in Syria who was caught in Damascus, tried, convicted and executed 40 years ago. The condom was used as a timing tool for mixed chemicals and produce a minor burst of fire. Sacha Baron Cohen, the Mossad and Netflix. Already a member? If I wanted something, I called, they put me through to him immediately. 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. According to al-Gamal's version, he saw a photograph in an Arab newspaper at a newspaper stand in Frankfurt's train station that showed Amin Kamel Thabet touring fortifications on the Golan Heights with Syrian officers. Nadia Cohen, widow of executed Israeli spy Eli Cohen, speaks to Channel 2 on September 20, 2016 after Syrian opposition forces release new video showing moments after he was hanged in. To establish his cover, Cohen moved to Buenos Aires in 1961. The crime of obtaining secret information is kept hidden to ensure the safety of the country to benefit the enemy. In 2019, Netflix created the seriesThe SpystarringSacha Baron Cohen to tell his story. 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.". He was hanged on May 18, 1965. 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. It doesnt fit our story but I understand the situation. 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. Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Defense Minister Ezer Weizmann, Chief of Staff Mordechai Gur, and several Mossad operatives all attended his son's Bar Mitzvah in 1977. 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. But in 1965, he was unmasked. [4] His father had moved there from Aleppo in 1914. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and moved to Israel in 1957. As a young adult, he worked within Egypt to secretly assist other Egyptian Jews in emigrating to Israel. One of them was Colonel Amin al-Hafaz, a supporter of the secular-leftist Baath party. He even trained at the same facility that had served as home to his doomed Susannah compatriots in 1953. He returned to Egypt in 1956 but was suspected immediately and was placed under surveillance. The message was passed on to the Syrians, who arrested Cohen. Once registered, youll receive our Daily Edition email for free. The three major tributaries of the upper Jordan River the Dan, the Baniyas, and the Hatzbani all originate in the Golan. I want him, here and now, because I've reached the age that I deserve tranquillity. [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. The Syrians and their Russian advisers were alarmed by the intelligence that was seeping out of the country. In 1965, the Syrian secret service was on high alert. They married in 1959, a month after meeting, and had three children together. 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. 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. Maurice isn't sure what this means. 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. It hurt. Meir even appealed to the Soviet Union. Eli Cohen's son, Shaul, was only 2 weeks old when he last saw his father. The Spy alternates between Cohens risky schemes with Nadias far more ordinary life. Eli seemed to have completed the final stage in establishing his network. "- From Eli Cohen's last letter to his wife Nadia and his children, written an hour before his execution in Damascus. One day Cohen was sitting in Saifs office reading a classified document while the Syrian was on the phone. Registering also lets you comment on articles and helps us improve your experience. Israel could not survive without Jordan's water. Spy Eli Cohen Wife Love Story, American History Has Been Whitewashed, But, Black Teen Girls On TV Are A Mess Finally.

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