Eli Cohen אֵלִי כֹּהֵן | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cohen in 1959 | |
| Born | Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen (1924-12-06)6 December 1924 Alexandria, Egypt |
| Died | 18 May 1965(1965-05-18) (aged 40) Damascus, Syria |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Espionage activity | |
| Allegiance |  Israel |
| Agency | Mossad |
| Service years | 1961–1965 |
| Alias | Kamel Amin Thabet (كامل أمين ثابت) |
Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen (Hebrew:אֱלִיָּהוּ בֵּן שָׁאוּל כֹּהֵן;Arabic:إيلياهو بن شاؤول كوهين; 6 December 1924 – 18 May 1965) was an Egyptian-born Israeli spy. He is best known for hisespionage work inSyria between 1961 and 1965, where he developed close relationships with the Syrian political and military hierarchy.[1][2][3]
Though he was initially successful, Cohen's activity became increasingly risky and he expressed a sense of impending danger toMossad in 1964. A year later, his true allegiance was uncovered by Syrian intelligence and he was convicted by the Syrian government under pre-war martial law. After being sentenced to death, he was publicly hanged inDamascus in May 1965. The incident contributed to the sharp escalation of hostilities betweenIsrael and Syria just before the1967 Arab–Israeli War.
Cohen is highly regarded in Israel, with several streets and roads being named after him.
Cohen was born inAlexandria,Egypt, to a family ofMizrahi Jews. His father had immigrated fromAleppo in theOttoman Empire in 1914. Deeply committed toJudaism, Cohen had planned in his youth to become arabbi with guidance fromMoise Ventura [he] (1893–1978), Alexandria'sChief Rabbi,[4] but the city'syeshiva soon closed down,[5] prompting him to pursue higher education atCairo University. A staunchZionist, he helpedIsrael evacuate theEgyptian Jewish community by assisting Israeli intelligence throughout Egypt. He was also fluent in five languages:Arabic,Hebrew,English,French, andSpanish.[5][6]
At the onset of theJewish exodus from the Muslim world, which began concurrently with theArab–Israeli conflict, Cohen's parents and three brothersimmigrated to Israel in 1949, but he stayed behind to complete his degree and also to help consolidate Zionist efforts among Egypt's Jewish community. Prior to the1952 Egyptian revolution, he was arrested and interrogated by Egyptian authorities, who were becoming suspicious of his activities.[7]
Nonetheless, he continued to engage in various Israeli covert efforts in Egypt throughout the 1950s, although the Egyptian government could never prove his involvement in Operation Goshen, by which the Israeli government smuggled a significant number of Egypt's Jews out of the country and resettled them in Israel.[8] Cohen is also said to have aided Egyptian Jews who were taking part in what would become known as theLavon Affair, by which Israel sought to sabotage Egypt's relationship with theWestern world. Two members of the spy ring were caught and sentenced to death, but the Egyptian government was unable to find a link between Cohen and the perpetrators.[7]
By December 1956, just after theSuez Crisis, he was forced to leave Egypt; his immigration to Israel was facilitated by theJewish Agency.[7][9] In 1959, he married Nadia Majald (bornc. 1935),[10] anIraqi-born Jew with whom he would have three children (Sophie, Irit, and Shai) after settling down inBat Yam.[11] Through this marriage, Cohen became the brother-in-law of Israeli authorSami Michael.[12]
TheIsrael Defense Forces recruited him in 1957 and placed him in military intelligence, where he became a counter-intelligence analyst and a translator.[13]: 63 His work bored him and he attempted to join theMossad, but he was offended when the Mossad rejected him, and he resigned from military counter-intelligence. For the next two years, he worked as a filing clerk in aTel Aviv insurance office.[9]
The Mossad recruited Cohen after Director-GeneralMeir Amit, looking for an intelligence officer 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. For two weeks Cohen was put under surveillance and was judged suitable for recruitment and training. Cohen was then informed thatMossad had decided to recruit him and underwent an intensive six-month course at the Mossad training school. His graduate report stated that he had all the qualities needed to become akatsa, or field agent.[14]
Cohen was then given a false identity as a Syrian businessman who was returning to the country after living in Argentina. To establish his cover, Cohen moved toBuenos Aires in 1961.[13]: 63–64 [15] 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 theSyrian Ba'ath Party. At this time the Ba'ath Party was illegal in Syria but theparty seized power in 1963.[16]
Cohen moved toDamascus in February 1962 under the alias Kamel Amin Thabet (Arabic:كامل أمين ثابت)[17][18] and lived in Al Mahdi Ibn Barakeh Street of theAbu Rummaneh neighbourhood, an area which contained various embassies and government buildings, including theAir Force Intelligence Directorate.[19] Mossad had carefully planned the tactics that he was to use in building relationships with high-ranking Syrian politicians, military officials, influential public figures, and the diplomatic community.[9]
Cohen continued his social life as he had in Argentina, spending time in cafes listening to political gossip. He also held parties at his home for high-placed Syrian ministers, businessmen, and others. At these parties, Cohen "dispensed free-flowingliquor andprostitutes"[1] and highly-placed officials would openly discuss their work and army plans. Cohen would pretend to be drunk to encourage such conversations, to which he paid close attention. He would also lend money to government officials, and many came to him for advice.[4] Cohen was so ingrained in the Syrian elite that he was on the short list for deputy minister of defense right before his arrest.[20]
Cohen provided an extensive amount and wide range of intelligence data for the Israeli Army between 1961 and 1965. He sent intelligence to Israel by radio, secret letters, and occasionally in person; he secretly travelled to Israel three times.[8] His most famous achievement was the tour of theGolan Heights in which he collected intelligence on the Syrian fortifications there. 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. The Israel Defense Forces were alleged to have used the trees as targeting markers during theSix-Day War, which enabled Israel to capture the Golan Heights in two days.[21] Cohen made repeated visits to the southern frontier zone, providing photographs and sketches of Syrian positions.[22] 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.[14][23][24] 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 during the"War over Water".[25] It is claimed that the intelligence that Cohen gathered before his arrest was an important factor in Israel's success in the Six-Day War,[26] although some intelligence experts have argued that the information he provided about the Golan Heights fortifications was also readily available from ground and aerial reconnaissance.[2]
A 2018 article published inNewsweek byRonen Bergman excerpted from Bergman's bookRise and Kill First, says that Eli Cohen locatedAlois Brunner, a former Nazi official and Holocaust perpetrator suspected of living in Syria, and relayed the information to an Israeli intelligence unit that subsequently sent letter bombs to Brunner, causing him to lose an eye in 1961 and the fingers of his left hand in 1980 when the parcels blew up in his hands.[27][28]
Following the1963 Syrian coup d'état, newly appointed Syrian Intelligence ColonelAhmed Suidani disliked Cohen and did not trust figures close to theSecond Syrian Republic. Cohen expressed fear of discovery to the Mossad on his last secret visit to Israel in November 1964, and he stated that he wished to terminate his assignment in Syria. The purposes of that visit were to pass on intelligence and to enable him to witness the birth of his third child. Despite this, however, Israeli intelligence asked him to return to Syria one more time. Before leaving, Cohen assured his wife it would be his last trip before he returned home permanently.[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 observed a period ofradio silence, in the hope that any illegal transmissions could be identified. They successfully detected radio transmissions and were able totriangulate the transmitter. Syrian security services led by Suidani broke into Cohen's apartment on 24 January and claimed to have caught him in the middle of a transmission to Israel.[8]
Cohen was found guilty of espionage by a military tribunal and sentenced to death under martial law. He had been repeatedly interrogated and tortured.[7][9]
Israel staged an international campaign for clemency, hoping to persuadeSyria not to execute him. Israeli foreign ministerGolda Meir led a campaign urgingDamascus to consider the consequences of hanging him. Diplomats, prime ministers, parliamentarians, andPope Paul VI tried to intercede. Meir even appealed to theSoviet Union.[9] The governments ofBelgium,Canada, andFrance tried to persuade the Syrian government to commute the death sentence,[29] but the Syrians refused. Nadia Cohen attempted to appeal for clemency at the Syrian Embassy inParis but was turned away. Cohen wrote in his final letter on 15 May 1965:[7]
I am begging you, my dear Nadia, not to spend your time in weeping about something already passed. Concentrate on yourself, looking forward for a better future!
Cohen was publicly hanged in theMarjeh Square in Damascus on 18 May 1965. The execution was recorded on35 mm film. On the day of his execution, his last wish to see arabbi was respected by the prison authorities, and Nissim Indibo, the elderlyChief Rabbi of Syria, accompanied him in the truck. He was also allowed to write a final letter to his wife.[9]
Syria refused to return Cohen's body to his family in Israel, and his wife Nadia sent a letter toAmin al-Hafiz in November 1965 asking his forgiveness for Cohen's actions and requesting his remains. In February 2007,Turkey offered to act as a mediator for their return.[30]
Monthir Maosily, the former bureau chief ofHafez 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.[31] Syrian authorities have repeatedly denied family requests for the remains. Cohen's brothers Abraham andMaurice led a campaign to return his remains; Maurice died in 2006, and Nadia now leads it.[14][17]
In 2016, a Syrian group calling itself "Syrian art treasures" posted a video onFacebook showing Cohen's body after his execution. No film or video was previously known to exist of the execution.[32] The press announced on 5 July 2018 that Cohen's wristwatch had been retrieved from Syria. His widow mentioned that the watch was up for sale months earlier, and Mossad managed to capture it.[33] Mossad directorYossi Cohen presented it to Cohen's family in a ceremony, and it is currently on display at Mossad headquarters.[34]
Cohen has become anational hero in Israel, and many streets and neighbourhoods have been named for him. Prime MinisterMenachem Begin, Defense MinisterEzer Weizmann, Chief of StaffMordechai Gur, and several Mossad operatives all attended his son'sBar Mitzvah in 1977.[35] A memorial stone has been erected to Cohen in theGarden of the Missing Soldiers inMount Herzl, Jerusalem.[36]
John Shea played Cohen in the television filmThe Impossible Spy (1987),[37] andSacha Baron Cohen played him in theNetflix miniseriesThe Spy (2019).[38]
The Israeli villageEliad in theGolan Heights is named after him.[39]
eli cohen 1960s.
eli cohen bunkers three lines.
