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 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. The execution was recorded on 35mm film. Once registered, youll receive our Daily Edition email for free. Eli Cohen provided an incredible amount of intelligence data to the Israeli Army over a period of three years. Following Israel's independence in 1949, when Jewish families were leaving Egypt, Eli stayed back to finish his electronics degree. (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. In 1960, Cohen was approached by the Mossad for a mission in Syria. 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 hierarchy and became the chief adviser to the country's defense minister. [8] His most famous achievement was the tour of the Golan Heights in which he collected intelligence on the Syrian fortifications there. 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. The transmissions became longer as well. Still, the memory of those domestic joys sustains Cohen while hes away. It was after Atassi resigned on July 27 that Hafiz was named president. Eli expressed his fear and wish to terminate his assignment in Syria during his last visit to Israel in November 1964. She smiles. [8], Cohen was found guilty of espionage by a military tribunal and sentenced to death under martial law. 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. he soon became a well-known figure in the Arab circle. He ultimately complied. Eli Cohen was born in Egypt in 1924 to Jewish parents, who had migrated to Alexandria from Syria. While there are reports that Cohen hosted parties that would devolve into orgies at his apartment, in order to gain the trust of high-level people in power, there's no concrete evidence that he played a role in the March 1963 coup. In 1959, he married Nadia Majald, born circa 1935, [10] an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant and the sister of author Sami Michael. On January 24, 1965, Syrian intelligence broke into his home in the middle of a transmission. they suspect on a tablet but they verify the Tibet's transmission two times at 8 am precisely they broke into the tablet home, Eli was caught red-handed in the transmission. 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. For a while, Cohen tried his hand at civilian life. In the interview, she said that her husband left behind memoirs, notes and other evidence. There is always the risk that the agent remains loyal to his original handlers and has managed to fool his new bosses. 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). By 1960, however, Israeli Intelligence was ready to take another look at Eli Cohen. He was interrogated and tortured. After three months, Eli spoke passable Spanish, knew Buenos Aires well, dressed, and behaved like thousands of Arab immigrants living in Buenos Aires. At times before the civil war, the Syrians used Israels northern border with Lebanon to harass Israel the way they used to from the Golan Heights. Israel has for decades worked to retrieve his remains. Saif calmly replied, Theres nothing to worry about. Steve Cohen's daughter Sophia splits from fianc - Page Six become close friends. Widow of Israeli spy Eli Cohen: Netflix drama 'raises my blood pressure' Despite being away from home for months at a time, he fathered three children, Sophie, Irit and Shai. one after the other 69 people were arrested. 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. He has reached the apex of success, and it seems that there is no door he can't open. Israeli intelligence was particularly excited about Cohen . Elis connections enabled him to be taken to the Golan Heights a major strategic asset for Syria from 1948-67. By Lianne Back. Eli Cohen (politician born 1972) - Wikipedia 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. To no avail. In exchange for his freedom, he agreed to work for Egypt's intelligence service. Fiyaz Mughal,Eli Cohens body must be returned to Israel, The JC, (Undated). Ahead of the mission, Cohen had to learn to speak Arabic in a Syrian accent rather than his native Egyptian. Cohen was arrested in January 1965 while transmitting to his handlers. He set up a travel agency in Tel Aviv and developed ties with the upper echelons of Israeli society, including politicians. But his knowledge of. He organized several protest campaigns against the British rule. "You know, when I was growing up, I heard a tremendous amount about your husband. 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. Once Cohen had established his background, he was inserted into the "target country," Syria, and operated with great success for four years until his capture. Nine months later, in late 1961, Eli came back to Israel for a visit with his wife Nadia. Eventually, they had three children: Sophie Ben-Dor, Irit Peleg, and Shai Cohen. "Sophie's. Since then, Nadia has always counted on him. The commenter agrees to the privacy policy of Ynet News and agrees not to submit comments that violate the. [34], The Israeli settlement Eliad on the Golan Heights is named for him.[35]. He says the spies wanted him to try and talk to his father's close friends or provide insight. This material may not be republished without the permission of the copyright owner. Did you spend your weekend binge-watching Netflix's taut thriller, The Spy? He then moved to Damascus in February 1962, under his new identity, Kamel Amin Thaabet, to extract classified information from Syrian military officers. 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. 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. If I wanted something, I called, they put me through to him immediately. As the Syrian Army officer explained to Eli the fortifications the Syrian Army had built, Eli suggested that the Syrians plant trees there to deceive the Israelis into thinking it was unfortified, as well as to provide shade and beauty for the soldiers stationed there. 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. Cohen later. He returned home to his family only a few times during his mission. [11] Start with Mossad [ edit] he goes abroad for business and meets Nadia and Sophie in Bat Yam. He continued his social life, spending a lot of time in cafes listening to political gossip. In Episode 5, Maurice puts the clues together when he covers for the regular analyst that communicates with Cohen using Morse code. The Golan is not only important for its military significance. [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). Please use the following structure: example@domain.com, Send me The Times of Israel Daily Edition. 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. 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. Cohen immigrated to Israel in 1957 and was recruited by Military Intelligence, to a unit that later became part of the Mossad. Scheffeldt said that her husband never revealed his true identity, and she learned of it only after a television series aired in Egypt that described him as a national hero. He was supposed to stay in Buenos Aires as a Syrian migr businessman named Kamal Amin Taabet. One of the more famous aspects of his spying regarded a trip he took to the Golan Heights. Intelligence officers who investigated the issue offered two possibilities: The first is that it was Egyptian intelligence that identified Cohen and gave him up to the Syrians; the second, which is considered more probable, is that the demand for information was so great that frequent communications via radio to Mossad headquarters exposed Cohen to Syrian counterintelligence. Unfortunately, Nadia and her family are still waiting to get Elis body and have not made peace with it. He was tortured, but he wouldnt give away any incriminating information about Israel. Israel attacked the project serval time later they abandon the project in 1965. Eli Cohen's daughter lukewarm on 'The Spy,' but likes Sacha Baron Cohen I beg you my dear Nadia do not spend your life weeping for what has passed. [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. They were caught spying for Israel in 1953 and some of them were hanged. Syria has not even disclosed the location of Eli's grave. She once called her children and four grandchildren to her home in Herzliya, clicked a photo of them together, and sent it to Assad, congratulating him on the birth of his son, Bashar. 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. His remains have yet to be returned, despite pleas from his family. It says this "does not imply any special relationship or endorsement". . Foreign Minister Eli Cohen heads to Germany Tuesday as part of Israel's campaign to halt Iran's . 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 it . But Sophie was born without seeing his father. Nevertheless, Kamal Amin Taabet (Eli Cohen) succeeded in visiting every position. Eli seemed to have completed the final stage in establishing his network. Before leaving, Cohen assured his wife it would be his last trip before he returned home permanently. One of the ministrys directors entered the room unannounced. His widow mentioned that the watch was up for sale months earlier, and Mossad managed to capture it. 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. In 1963, during a business trip to Germany, he met Weltrude Scheffeldt, a divorcee, then 22 and with a small child, and married her. try to make as many friends as possible, and establish contact with Arab leaders. Intelligence created a completely new identity for him. In early 1961, Chaim Herzog, Chief of Military Intelligence and later president of Israel, signed the document authorizing Cohens use as a spy. The news spread everywhere that the Syrian leader is a spy, a president friend, a millionaire. Nadia wishes to be buried beside Elis grave. He was caught and sentenced to death. Based on the eucalyptus trees, Israel knew exactly where the Syrian fortifications were. - From Eli Cohen's last letter to his wife Nadia and his children, written an hour before his execution in Damascus. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. [30], Cohen has become a national hero in Israel, and many streets and neighborhoods have been named for him. [2], A 2018 article published in Newsweek by Ronen Bergman excerpted from Bergman's book Rise and Kill First, says that Eli Cohen located Alois Brunner, a Nazi scientist suspected of living in Syria, and relayed the information to an Israel intelligence unit that later sent letter bombs to Brunner. Cohen was born in 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt to a devout Mizrahi Jewish and Zionist family. Nadia was told that Eli was working for the ministry of defense and would be completely safe. The spy who never came home - The Jewish Chronicle In February 1961 one man handed him an Israeli passport in his real name and a plane ticket to Zurich.on his arrival, Eli was met by a white-haired man who gave him a passport from another name, that passport carried an entry visa to chile and a transit visa to Argentina. Eli's second instructor Yehuda taught him how to use a small, sophisticated radio transmitter. On May 15, 1965, Eli wrote a final letter to Nadia, requesting her not to mourn his death and stating that she should hold her head high, as her husband had done nothing wrong. Daniel Sonnenfeld,55 years after execution in Syria, Israeli spy Eli Cohen makes headlines,Jerusalem Post, February 27, 2021). While there, he gained the trust of Amin al-Hafez, who would later become Syrias president. Every morning, Eli would leave home and head for the Aman training center. Since Eli did not have a steady job back then, even though he worked as an accountant, he had to rely more on Nadia to help support the family and their marriage. 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 am the son of the only person on this planet who knows where the remains are buried," he told Newshub in an interview. "I was cooperating with the New Zealand Secret Intelligence Service, in cooperation with the Mossad, in order to help find the remains of the Israeli spy Eli Cohen," he said. When Intelligence came by a second time, he jumped at it. 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. His successes couldn't be vocally shared with his family, however. Before he was executed, Cohen met with a rabbi, as per his request, and sent his wife a letter. The watch is now on display at the 'Mossad' headquarters. [13][14] In Buenos Aires he moved among the Arab community, letting it be known he had large amounts of money to put at the disposal of the Syrian Ba'ath Party. 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.". [4] His father had moved there from Aleppo in 1914. I beg my wife to forgive me, to take care of herself and our children.