eli cohen children

Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 26, 1924, the second of eight children in a family of orthodox Jews. Before leaving, Cohen assured his wife it would be his last trip before he returned home permanently. He was sent to Argentina, where he took on the guise of a businessman, scion of a Syrian family. Eli Cohenbecame certain that Israel had spied in the Syrian government. He soon became accepted, well-liked, and respected, and made contacts with politicians, diplomats and military officials working out of the Syrian Embassy. Eli was caught in the act and there was nothing he could do. Cohen later. After Hafez became Prime Minister, Eli was even considered to be named the Syrian Deputy Minister of Defense. Later, visiting his sister-in-law, Cohen's wife Nadia, he notices that she has a brand new Singer sewing machine in her home. He also held parties at his home for high-placed Syrian ministers, businessmen, and others. With senior staff officers acting as guides, Eli Cohen was provided an in-depth intelligence briefing of monumental proportions. They even photographed Eli on the Golan Heights, looking over into Israel, alongside the most high-ranking Syrian officers. The execution was recorded on 35mm film. Eli, who would feign intoxication, remained sober and listened carefully., In addition to providing loans to government officials and acting as an avid host, he was asked for advice by government officials, who were often intoxicated by the alcohol he freely provided. [8], Cohen was found guilty of espionage by a military tribunal and sentenced to death under martial law. Eli Cohen (politician born 1972) - Wikipedia Eli's second instructor Yehuda taught him how to use a small, sophisticated radio transmitter. The Israeli government and Cohens widow have for many years sought the return of Elis body. [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. In February 2007, the Turkish government offered to act as a mediator for their return. It also provides 30% of Israels water sources. Source:The Pedagogic Center, The Department for Jewish Zionist Education, The Jewish Agency for Israel, (c) 1992-2007. Eli Cohen provided an incredible amount of intelligence data to the Israeli Army over a period of three years. 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. 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. The Spy alternates between Cohens risky schemes with Nadias far more ordinary life. Decades after the Eli Cohen affair there are still many questions, some minor, others major - among them, the way in which Syrian counterintelligence identified the Israeli spy (from the archive). when you were three, your family left Lebanon and moved to Egypt Alexandria. In a February 2006 interview with Jewish Magazine, Maurice Cohen said that he informed his brother that he knew he was "our man in Damascus" in an intriguing way, rather than outright confronting him as seen in The Spy. Israeli foreign minister Golda Meir led a campaign urging Damascus to consider the consequences of hanging him. This week, KAN 11 began broadcasting a documentary series "Lochem 566," (Fighter 566, Cohen's Mossad codename). In the show, Cohenas Thaabetbefriends Hafiz in Buenos Aires and later in Damascus helps Hafiz's Ba'ath party seize power. He organized several protest campaigns against the British rule. Steve Cohen's daughter Sophia splits from fianc - Page Six But he refused). In February 1962, Cohen moved to Damascus. I am writing you these last words, minutes before my end, with the hope that you stay together forever. His first assignment was to infiltrate the Jewish community of Alexandria. Its waters flow into the Sea of Galilee (the Kinneret) and south to the Dead Sea. He was convicted in a trial without a defense and sentenced to death. Eli had lost his friends, in 1957 he immigrates to Israel. 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. 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. The border with Syria was heating up as well. ", "Sacha Baron Cohen To Star As Eli Cohen in Netflix Limited Series 'The Spy', Cohen's widow asks for his remains to be returned, PM's speech at the ceremony marking 40 years since the death of Eli Cohen, Our man in Damascus: Eli Cohen of blessed memory, Exhibition in the IDF & Defense Establishment Archives, Eli Cohen, moments after the execution (part 1), Eli Cohen, moments after the execution (part 2), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eli_Cohen&oldid=1140124388, Egyptian people convicted of spying for Israel, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles having same image on Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 15:41. Every morning, Eli would leave home and head for the Aman training center. For four years, Cohen posed as a Syrian textile businessman named Kamal Amin Thabet, first in Argentina and later in Damascus. They had a son, Daniel, and after the Six Day War they celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The film featured John Shea as Eli. From 1961 to 1965, Eli transmitted crucial intelligence data, including that of the Golan Heights, to the Israeli army. 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. He was caught and sentenced to death. Elis larger-than-life persona has attracted many filmmakers, who have then used his story for their projects. In 1960, the national intelligence agency of Israel, 'Mossad,' approached Eli for a classified mission in Syria. Cohen established his contact quickly, his letter of recommendation opened the gates to high society. Diplomats, prime ministers, parliamentarians, and Pope Paul VI tried to intercede. Nadia, widow of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, reacts during an interview with Reuters in Herzliya, Israel October 6, 2019. . Eli Cohen - Jewish Virtual Library The new Ba'ath government initially installed Lu'ay al-Atassi as president in March 1963. 4 Min Read. In November 1964, Tel Dan Syria open fire on Israel tractors in the demilitarized zone. In addition, the commander of Syrian Intelligence, Colonel Ahmed Suedani trusted no one and disliked Eli. He remembered and passed on to Israeli Intelligence the positioning of every Syrian gun, trench, and machine-gun nest in each Golan Heights fortification; tank traps, designed to impede any Israeli attack, were also identified and memorized for future targeting.. He was taught high-speed evasive driving techniques, Weapons proficiency (especially with a wide variety of small arms), topography, map reading, sabotage, and, most importantly, radio transmissions and cryptography. Earlier communication between the alleged son and the intelligence agency reveals Al-Hafidh was adamant on receiving the money. The agent replied: "Will do, thanks K". In Episode 5, Cohen's playboy-esque Thaabet hosts a sex party at his apartment to distract key government and military officials while the Ba'ath Party's military committee seizes power in Damascus. [15], Cohen moved to Damascus in February 1962 under the alias Kamel Amin Thaabet (Arabic: ). Eli started transmitting his message to Israel daily at 8 a.m. After six months kamal Amin tabet become well known. [8], Israel's secret police recruited a sabotage unit of Jewish Egyptian citizens in 1955 which attempted to undermine Egypt's relationships with western powers in the "Lavon Affair". Israels defense planners urgently needed reliable intelligence on the scope of the water diversion project engineering plans, diagrams, maps, and other data and up-to-the-minute assessments of Soviet influence in the Syrian capital, as well as detailed information on plans for the modernization, equipping, and retraining of Syrian forces. Eli Cohen was the man for the job. His successes couldn't be vocally shared with his family, however. Do what you must, don't deprive the children of a father. According to Scheffeldt, Cohen and al-Gamal were arrested together in 1954 and released shortly after. In Episode 5, Maurice puts the clues together when he covers for the regular analyst that communicates with Cohen using Morse code. 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. "It works with a range of international intelligence agencies,'' the NZSIS said in response. your father and uncle opened a textile store, but it went bankrupt your father died in 1956 and six months later your mother died too. Based on the eucalyptus trees, Israel knew exactly where the Syrian fortifications were. Likud MK Eli Cohen Federation of Local Authorities conference in Tel Aviv, December 8, 2022. Eli told Nadia that he got a job with a company that works with defense and foreign ministries, he needs to travel to Europe to buy tools and equipment, and materials for Israel's military. 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. In 1954, Egyptian authorities arrested Eli for being a terror suspect. To no avail. The saga of Eli Cohen, Israel's greatest spy - San Diego Jewish World Its unfamiliar to me, this form of expression in a global television series. Daniel Sonnenfeld,55 years after execution in Syria, Israeli spy Eli Cohen makes headlines,Jerusalem Post, February 27, 2021). [9], Cohen continued his social life as he had in Argentina, spending time in cafes listening to political gossip. He had an input into and an impact on Syrian national defense and was privy to almost all their secrets. The Ba'athist coup and Eli Cohen's role. [7][9], Israel staged an international campaign for clemency, hoping to persuade the Syrians not to execute him. I beg you my dear Nadia do not spend your life weeping for what has passed. 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. Despite being away from home for months at a time, he fathered three children, Sophie, Irit and Shai. [5] He studied at Cairo Farouk University. She also said she understood and respected the show. Eli himself was not above the spicier part of a spys life either. The condom was used as a timing tool for mixed chemicals and produce a minor burst of fire. But Sophie was born without seeing his father. It says this "does not imply any special relationship or endorsement". 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. In the footsteps of a spy: Exploring the Golan's Eli Cohen Trail The True Story Behind The Spy on Netflix | Time It went wrong, really wrong," he said. (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. So now we have a request. His wife, Nadia, would be left a widow with three very young children. 'I know where Eli Cohen is buried,' says alleged son of ex - ynetnews After a few months, Eli was visited by George Salem Seif, a radio show host in charge of radio Damascus broadcast for Syrian abord. I give you my blessing. tabet sends it to Argentina, where his friend dispatches them to Israel with a diplomatic pouch. "This cooperation brings significant benefits to New Zealand's national security, we help them (Mossad), and they help us," they added. I want him (Yossi Cohen) to clarify what hapepned," said the 84-year-old. Qudsi was ousted from power as a result of the March 8 coup, but Hafiz did not take power until months later. Nadia wishes to be buried beside Elis grave. After his execution, a white parchment filled with anti-Zionist writing was put on his body, and he was left hanging for six hours. I beg you my dear Nadia do not spend your life weeping for what has passed. "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. He was sentenced to death. In early 1964, Eli was able to radio Tel Aviv that the channel was being dug along the entire length of the Syrian Heights to receive the diverted flow of the Baniyas River - one of the Jordans major sources - and empty into Jordanian territory. Eli carefully spelled out all the details of the project and passed them on to Israeli Intelligence. 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 . They had three children, Sophie, Irit, and Shai. The Story of Eli Cohen, the Israeli Superspy Who Almost Became Syria's In 1957, Eli joined the Israel Defense Forces as a counterintelligence analyst and later applied for the Israeli intelligence agency 'Mossad,' which rejected him. Still, Israeli Intelligence asked him to return to Syria one more time. According to Maurice Cohen, this really happened. 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 Syrias Jewish community, in particular.. One day Cohen was sitting in Saifs office reading a classified document while the Syrian was on the phone. Look after them, raise them up and educate them well, and don't deprive them or yourself of anythingDo what you must, don't deprive the children of a father. 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. The Syrian project to divert water from the headwaters of the Jordan away from Israel was mentioned already in the above introduction. I think as long as Bashar Assad is in power I dont see the word progress,' she said, referring to Syrias dictator. Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 26, 1924. Because of that, perhaps he just tired of the whole charade. She was told he would be completely safe, and she believed that until his capture in 1965. [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. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the Israeli ambassador, Itzhak Gerberg, would not comment on the report. That is, until Meir Dagan took over as chief. The actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has a . Eli was arrested but soon released due to a lack of evidence. 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. In 1967, the Israelis were able to conquer the Golan Heights in two days in part due to the intelligence he provided.