Cohen's training was long and exhausting. 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. Sacha Baron Cohen in 'The Spy' as Eli Cohen. Eli Cohen (pictured, at center) was born in Egypt in 1924 to Jewish parents who had immigrated to Alexandria from Aleppo, Syria. 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. Text messages sent from an NZSIS agent called "Carl" appear to show him brokering a deal. He wasnt even drafted into regular service but was placed in a reserve Israeli Air Force formation as a logistics clerk. Perhaps he wasnt allowed into the security service due to his Military Intelligence evaluation some years before. They successfully detected radio transmissions and were able to triangulate the transmitter. China Offering Cutting Edge Type 052D Destroyers For Export: Are Algeria and Russia its Most lIkely Clients? 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. Still Ben-Dor, who was four years old when her father was killed, said she was pleasantly surprised by actor Cohens portrayal. Cohen's brothers Abraham and Maurice led a campaign to return his remains; Maurice died in 2006, and Nadia now leads it. The agent replied: "Will do, thanks K". The newly appointed Syrian intelligence colonel, Ahmed Su'edani, disliked Eli. She also said she understood and respected the show. "I beg you my dear Nadia do not spend your life weeping for what has past," his final letter read. The previous year, which marked Elis 50th death anniversary, Nadia had addressed a memorial dedicated to him. The president was ousted from power a year later in 1966. For four years, Cohen posed as a Syrian textile businessman named Kamal Amin Thabet, first in Argentina and later in Damascus. A devout Jew, Cohen wore tefillin during prayer, in his youth he planned of becoming a Rabbi with the backup of Moise Ventura (1893-1978), Chief Rabbi of Alexandria but the Rabbinical School closed down. Earlier communication between the alleged son and the intelligence agency reveals Al-Hafidh was adamant on receiving the money. 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. For two weeks Cohen was put under surveillance and was judged suitable for recruitment and training. 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.". In February 1962, Cohen moved to Damascus. Their youngest child, Shai, was only 21 days old then. 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. Thats why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. 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 six-part drama about Israeli spy Eli Cohen has gripped viewers and critics alike with its pulse-racing tale of espionage and a deceptively good dramatic performance by Sacha Baron Cohen, better known for his comedy work, as the Mossad agent. I think as long as Bashar Assad is in power I dont see the word progress,' she said, referring to Syrias dictator.
On the day of his execution, his last wish to see a rabbi was respected by the prison authorities, and Nissim Indibo, the elderly Chief Rabbi of Syria, accompanied him in the truck. 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. [9], In 1959, he married Nadia Majald, born circa 1935,[10] an Iraqi-Jewish immigrant and the sister of author Sami Michael. [11] Start with Mossad [ edit] Nadia (born Nadia Majald) is an Iraqi Jew who got married to Eli on August 31, 1959. 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. "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. In the 1970s, they left Israel for Germany and in 1982, al-Gamal, alias Jacques Biton, died of an illness.
In 'The Spy,' Sacha Baron Cohen Gets Serious : NPR Over the years, her relationship with the Mossad and that of her children, Sophie Ben-Dor, Irit Peleg and Shai Cohen, unraveled. 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. Al-Hafidh wanted a million dollars for his services, texting: "1M for the minimum for kick start. The news spread everywhere that the Syrian leader is a spy, a president friend, a millionaire. The Golan Heights defenses were top-secret and closed only to top military staff. The complete trust Cohen enjoyed among his unwitting informants is illustrated by the following incident, which might have serious consequences for the Israeli agents. In exchange for his freedom, he agreed to work for Egypt's intelligence service. 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. "There was great excitement because it is essentially the only item of dad that came back, we have nothing. He then moved to Damascus in February 1962, under his new identity, Kamel Amin Thaabet, to extract classified information from Syrian military officers. I beg my wife to forgive me, to take care of herself and our children.
Widow of Israeli spy Eli Cohen: 'When he was caught, something died What Could Possibly Go Wrong? 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. The Syrians and their Russian advisers were alarmed by the intelligence that was seeping out of the country. Offended, he resigned from military counterintelligence and took up a clerical job in a Tel Aviv insurance office. From 1961 to 1965, Eli transmitted crucial intelligence data, including that of the Golan Heights, to the Israeli army. All these years, I remained faithful to him. He organized several protest campaigns against the British rule.
Why Mossad's Retrieval of Eli Cohen's Watch Matters - SOFREP Concentrate on yourself; look forward to a better future! Where Is Nadia Cohen Now? In Episode 5, Maurice puts the clues together when he covers for the regular analyst that communicates with Cohen using Morse code. The text messages between Khalid and the NZSIS. A year later, in 1965, Cohen was caught transmitting over the radio back to Tel Aviv. 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. Israel could not survive without Jordan's water. 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. Again, I. Israel has for decades worked to retrieve his remains. In 1949, his parents and three brothers moved to Israel while Eli remained in Egypt to coordinate Jewish and Zionist activities there. While undercover in Argentina in The Spy, Cohen struggles to resist drafting her notes, even if it puts him in danger. However, running a double agent is considered to be one of the most complex missions in intelligence work. Eli did go back to Syria, but his behavior changed. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library, Cohen publicly hanged in the Marjeh Square, The Pedagogic Center, The Department for Jewish Zionist Education, The Jewish Agency for Israel, 1998 - 2023 American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Al-Hafidh then sent his bank details, but the deal went cold. 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. On August 31, 1959, he married a beautiful Iraqi-born Jew, Nadia Majald. In 1961, Eli was sent to Buenos Aires in the guise of a Syrian textile businessman. 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. He wrote a last letter to his wife before he mounted the scaffold to a seething crowd. In a display of generosity, the tabet contributed some money to build a public kitchen for the poor of Damascus. In January 1965, Syrian security officers broke into Elis apartment while he was in the middle of his escape to Israel. He worked as an accountant. 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. you lived with your uncle and worked as a travel agency, later were very successful. [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.