Eli Cohen

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This article is about the Israeli spy. For other people with the same name, see Eli Cohen (disambiguation).

Eli Cohen (Hebrew: אלי כהן‎, born 26 December 1924, died 18 May 1965) was an Israeli spy. He is best known for his work in Syria, where he developed close relationships with the political and military hierarchy and became the Chief Adviser to the Minister of Defense and third in line to the presidency. He was eventually exposed and executed in Syria in 1965. The intelligence he gathered is claimed to have been an important factor in Israel's Six Day War.^[1]

Contents 1 Early career 2 Syria 3 Trial and execution 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Early career

Born in Egypt, Cohen took part in various operations in the country during the 1950s, though the Egyptian government could never verify and provide proof of his involvement in Operation Goshen. In the 1960s, he was recruited by the Israeli military intelligence. He was given a false identity as a Syrian Arab who was returning to the country after living in Argentina. To establish his cover, Cohen moved to Argentina in 1961.

[edit] Syria

The following year, he moved to Damascus. For the next few years, using the alias Kamel Amin Thaabet كامل أمين ثابت (commonly pronounced Saabet) Cohen gained the confidence of many Syrian military and government officials, and sent intelligence to Israel by radio, secret letters, and occasionally in person. His most famous achievement was when he toured the Syrian fortifications on the Golan Heights. In 1964 his assignments were transferred to Mossad as part of an intelligence reorganization.

Cohen made many friendships with high-ranking Syrian generals while undercover. Some sources even say that he had established a good friendship with Amin Hafiz. However, this was denied by Hafiz in a 2001 interview in which he claimed that such a friendship would be impossible given the fact that he had been in Moscow until 1962.^[2] After Hafiz became Prime Minister, Eli was even considered for the position of Syrian Deputy Minister of Defense.^[3] However, this claim too has been dismissed by Hafiz's secretary as a lie.^[4]

Although the story may be apocryphal, many claim that Cohen suggested that eucalyptus trees should be planted around Syrian military bunkers and mortars on the Golan Heights that were targeting Israel. That way Cohen argued, the trees would provide natural cover for the outposts (given that eucalyptus trees grow very quickly), as to prevent soldiers and personnel from suffering the effects of heatstroke. After his suggestion was implemented by the Syrian military, Cohen passed on the information to Israeli intelligence, then the Israeli Air Force (IAF)—using the newly planted trees as a guide—easily destroyed the majority of those bases during the Six-Day War. The mature trees are still evident today when visiting the sites. ^[5]

Cohen also learned of an important secret Syrian plan to have three lines of bunkers and mortars right behind each other in order to trick the Israeli military, which would expect only one.

[edit] Trial and execution

In January 1965, hired Soviet experts caught him in the act of sending a radio message after large amounts of radio interference brought attention. After a trial, he was found guilty of espionage.^{[citation needed]} Despite many appeals including from Pope Paul VI and the heads of state of France, Belgium and Canada, to persuade the Syrian government to commute the death sentence,^[6] he was publicly hanged by Syria on 18 May 1965.

According to his brother and fellow Mossad agent, Maurice Cohen, Eli Cohen was third in line to succeed as president of Syria, at the time he was discovered.^[7]

Requests by his family for his remains to be returned to Israel have been denied by the Syrian government (as of May 2006). In February 2007 a Turkish official confirmed that his government was ready to act as a mediator for the return of Eli's remains to his family from Syria.^[8] In August 2008 the former bureau chief of late Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad, Monthir Maosily, said that Eli Cohen's burial site is unknown, claiming that the Syrians buried the executed Israeli spy three times, being scared that the remains would be brought back to Israel via a special operation.^[9]

Eli's brothers, Abraham and Maurice Cohen have led the campaign to return his remains. Abraham died in 2005, and Maurice died in 2006. Eli's widow, Nadia, has since led the campaign.

The film The Impossible Spy is a depiction of his life.^[10] He is featured at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Cohen's widow asks for his remains to be returned Israel National News
• PM's speech at the ceremony marking 40 years since the death of Eli Cohen Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• The Eli Cohen Files