There he was soon recruited by Mosad, who found his unique abilities: He knew how to speak fluently Arabic, he could adapt to any social environment and had excellent memory.
Mosad sent him to Argentina in 1961 to build his cover. He was presented as Kamal Amin Thaabet, a Syrian businessman who returned to his home country to “invest” in his future. With a false identity and utilizing his contacts, he settled in Damascus and began to associate with generals, deputies and ministers.
Elegant, generous and with air as he was, he organized banquets and offered political support to his friends. No one suspected that every night he was transmitting with wireless valuable information to Jerusalem.
Through parties, luxurious banquets and loans to Syrian entrepreneurs, he managed to penetrate the secrets of the state. Almost every night he sent all the information he received with Morse marks to Israel, from his home in Damascus, without realizing it.
All this time, he had managed to learn terribly state secrets. However, he was spiritually tired of double life and the long absence from his family. But the proposal to become a Minister of Defense even exceeded fantasy scenarios as well as his decision to give up.
His most risky mission is considered to visit to Golan Heightswhere he suggested to the makers to donate some tall trees that would plant around the camps to shade the soldiers. These trees gave the opponents the opportunity to be supervised by the bases from above and to hit them in the “6 -day war” in 1967, two years after his death.
The arrest and the end
Eventually, Syrian backdrops identified him in 1965, thanks to enhanced radio detection measures. The troops invaded his home and arrested him in self -esteem while sending information to Israel. Cohen He was tortured, tried and sentenced to death.
The International Community and Israel demanded mercy, but the Syrians proceeded with its execution with public hanging on May 18, 1965, in Damascus.
He was wearing only one jacket, in which all his crimes are listed. Around him dozens of soldiers with arms in his hand. On the streets people continued their life normally, as it was not hanging a man’s body in public view.
His body stayed there for a whole day. For everyone to remember what was the outcome for Eli Cohen, the Israeli spy of Mosad.
Among other things, he was removed from his true identity, while his body was not given to his wife Nadia, who learned his accurate status on the day of his conviction.
The Syrians felt betrayed and on a personal level as he was a prominent member of their society and had exposed top faces of his time who trusted him, such as the country’s leader.
Mosad revealed how it was caught in Syria
For the first time, Mosad revealed in 2022 how her most famous spy, Elin Cohen, was arrested in Syria. Its director, David Barneas, revealed the content of the latest telegram sent by Eli Cohen: It was January 19, 1965 and the overpass.
In the telegram, Cohen told his secret supervisors in Mosad that then Syrian president Amin al-Hafiz had met with the Syrian Army’s Supreme Administration at 5pm. This was shortly before Cohen was arrested.
For decades, there was a great deal of discussion in Israel about whether Cohen was caught because his pilots pressed him too much or he took a lot of risks.
The Mosad manager said that the revelation of the last telegram makes it clear that no one It is not ‘to blame’ and sometimes even the best spies can be arrested after persistent spying by an enemy.
As he said, Cohen was not arrested because he did too many telegraph missions because he did not work according to the protocol or because the headquarters pressed him to send him very often. “
“From now on, this is an event for intelligence services,” Barnea said.
The “Spy” series on Netflix
Eli Cohen is considered a national hero in Israel. Its name was given on streets, squares and schools.
His action inspired books, documentary and Netflix series in 2019, «The Spy»with Sasha Baron Cohen.
International media criticisms for the Israeli actor were very good, with many critics referring to the impressive performance of the character he plays at the moment, in fact, that he himself became known by comedic roles, such as that of Borat and the dictator.
Cohen’s family, on the other hand, accused the series of historical inaccuracies. However, he congratulated the protagonist for his interpretation.
“The series does not deepen as much as it should and includes many elements of the director’s imagination. He shows my father as someone who was wasted, he liked women and put himself in reckless dangers.
In fact, he was very sure of himself and very happy with his life. He was not poor or miserable. Was the best agent ever had Mosand“His daughter said in an interview.
Israel still calls for the return of its body today.
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