May 18th, 1965.
Marge Square in Damascus is filled with a charged crowd.
To the shouts and jeers, like a scene from the Middle Ages, an Israeli spy was publicly hanged before more than 10,000 people.
Eli Cohen met death with pride and dignity.
Mossad’s agent 88 accomplished what seemed impossible.
He penetrated Syria’s ruling elite, won the trust of generals and ministers, and became an adviser to top military officials.
The intelligence he provided helped Israel secure victory in the Six-Day War.
But for that success, he paid with his life.
Today, Eli Cohen’s name has become a symbol of courage and devotion.
He deceived the entire Syrian leadership and reached the very heart of its government.
But how did he manage it? and most importantly, why was he eventually exposed? This is a true story based solely on facts.
Yet, the plot of this story is more gripping than the pages of any spy novel.
Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt on December 26th, 1924.
His family was Jewish with roots in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
They lived modestly, stayed close to one another, and strictly followed tradition.
From childhood, Eli was a serious boy.
He read a lot and even dreamed of becoming a rabbi.
His mentor in the synagogue believed he had the talent.
But soon the religious school closed and the path to the rabbinate became impossible for Eli.
He continued his studies at Cairo University.
The world was changing at that time.
In Egypt, hostility toward Jews was growing and life was becoming more difficult.
But Eli did not give up.
He joined the Zionist movement, helping smuggle Jews into Palestine and later into Israel.
This was the first time he came to the attention of intelligence services.
Eli had a special gift, languages.
He spoke fluent Arabic and Hebrew and had excellent command of English, French, and even Spanish.
This skill would later save his life and open doors that were closed to others.
But he was being watched.
Egyptian authorities suspected him of secretly working for Israel.
Twice he was arrested and interrogated, but since no hard evidence was found, he was released.
After the second arrest, however, the authorities decided to expel him from the country.
In 1956, shortly after the Suez crisis, Eli left for Israel.
There he began a new life.
At first, it was not easy.
He struggled to find work and felt like an outsider.
But everything changed when he met Nadia, a beautiful woman born in Iraq.
They married and together they had three children, Sophie, Irit, and Sheay.
Eli was no longer just a Jewish boy from Alexandria.
His past, his knowledge, and his experiences were preparing him for a different destiny, the destiny of a spy.
In Israel, Eli Cohen spent a long time searching for his true place.
In military intelligence, his job was to translate and analyze Arabic newspapers, papers, clippings, reports, important work, but his spirit was larger than the desk.
Time and again, he asked for a field assignment, but when his requests were denied, he tried to join MSAD on his own.
The answer was cold.
We don’t take volunteers.
Disappointed, Eli left counter intelligence and spent two years at an insurance company, a quiet clerk among folders and stamps.
It seemed the story had ended.
But one day, his old file landed on the desk of the new Mossad chief, Mayor Amit, languages, his Egyptian background, underground experience.
Everything pointed to a man worth a second look.
Mossad quietly placed Eli under surveillance, watching how he carried himself, how he spoke, how he interacted with others.
The conclusion was clear.
The time had come.
At Mossad’s training school, Eli’s life completely changed.
The drills weren’t for show.
He was taught to think like the enemy and to see the city with different eyes.
Walking the streets with his instructor, he learned to read the background.
Who was just a passerby and who might be a tail? Where a camera could be safely placed and where it never should.
He practiced blending into crowds, slowing his steps, quickening his pace, shifting his rhythm until he could vanish from notice.
In the classroom, silence hung heavy, broken only by the tapping of a telegraph key.
Eli tapped out Morse code until it became second nature.
At first slowly, then faster until his hand produced flawless rhythm without thought.
Then came ciphers.
One sentence transformed into meaningless signs, and only someone with the key could unlock its meaning.
On the desk, small bottles of secret ink.
He would write on a blank page, then reveal words as if pulling them out of thin air.
There were also long hours in the dark room where he learned to shoot and develop film, making sure not a single frame was lost to a careless mistake.
A camera in his hands became another tool of memory.
Yet, even without one, Eli’s mind was extraordinary.
Instructors marveled at how after a single walk through a neighborhood, he could sketch a map of streets, alleys, doors, and windows with striking accuracy.
Physical training was practical, not heroic enough to get out of a fight and escape if he had to.
No theatrics, only survival.
His speech was refined with equal care.
The traces of his Egyptian accent were stripped away layer by layer until a pure Syrian dialect emerged.
He practiced not only how to speak, but how to laugh, how to pause, even how to tell a joke.
Everything needed to sound like a native son of Damascus.
And always there was the discipline of secrecy.
Where to hide a radio transmitter.
How to mask an antenna.
How to send a message when someone was awake in the next room.
How to plant a letter so only the right hands could find it.
How to shake a pursuer who appeared suddenly from nowhere.
6 months of such days left their mark.
His instructors saw it.
He absorbed everything quickly.
Never broke under pressure.
Kept a clear head in all circumstances.
Eli left the school a different man.
Someone ready to play the role of his life.
Ahead of him lay a legend and a new name.
After his training at the Msad School, Eli began a new life.
He had to become another man.
His cover story sounded convincing.
Camel Ammon Tabet, a Syrian by origin, a Muslim, a bachelor, and a wealthy businessman.
According to the story, his family had long lived in Lebanon, while he himself had spent many years in Argentina.
Now, Thbot was returning to the Middle East to invest his inheritance and help his homeland, Syria.
In February 1961, Eli set out for Buenosiris.
There, he began to settle into his new role.
He rented a spacious apartment, bought an expensive car, wore fashionable clothes, and carried himself as though he truly possessed a fortune.
In the Arab community of Argentina, word quickly spread about the generous and charming Syrian who hosted dinners, threw parties, and easily made connections.
He knew how to listen, how to speak at just the right moment, and how to make an impression.
Within the Arab diaspora, he became one of their own.
Eli not only joined conversations about politics, he demonstrated that he shared the views of those who envisioned a strong Syria and harbored a deep-seated animosity towards Israel.
Soon Tabet was moving among Syrian diplomats and military officers.
His name was mentioned at gatherings and he was invited to the table.
One acquaintance proved especially important, Aminal Alhafi, Syria’s military attache in Argentina.
This friendship would later open the doors of Damascus’s highest offices to Cohen.
But at that time in Buenosirus, he was still solidifying his persona.
He demonstrated wealth, independence, and readiness to invest in Syria.
Step by step, he was building a bridge that would carry him into a new life, a life undercover in the very heart of an enemy nation.
An invitation to Damascus was now only a matter of time.
Eli was ready.
The legend had taken on a life of its own.
In early 1962, the legend truly came to life.
Under the name Camil Amin Tabet, Eli Cohen arrived in Damascus.
He settled not just anywhere but in the prestigious Abu Manet district.
This was no ordinary neighborhood.
Nearby stood embassies, government ministries, and even the headquarters of Air Force intelligence.
It was the heart of Syrian high society and now home to the wealthy businessmen from Argentina.
Eli quickly began hosting parties and lavish dinners.
His apartment soon became one of the city’s most popular salons.
Wine and strong drinks flowed freely, and the atmosphere was light and relaxed.
Here, people felt at ease.
Generals, ministers, and businessmen dropped their masks and said things they would never have dared to share elsewhere.
Cohen knew how to listen.
He never interrupted, never rushed, but caught every word.
At his table, government plans, military secrets, and hints of future decisions spilled out in casual conversation.
Everything Eli heard, he carefully relayed back to Israel.
To strengthen his position, he lent money to influential individuals, offered advice, and provided assistance when needed.
His counsel was quickly appreciated.
He seemed intelligent, cautious, and dependable.
Gradually, he was no longer seen as just a wealthy guest from Argentina, but as someone worthy of trust.
Cohen’s influence grew rapidly.
He became so deeply embedded in the circles of power that his name was even mentioned as a possible candidate for the position of Syria’s deputy minister of defense.
It was astonishing.
An Israeli agent sat at the same table with generals and ministers in the very heart of Damascus.
The intelligence he gathered was worth an entire army of spies.
The longer Eli Cohen lived in Damascus, the deeper he penetrated into the heart of the Syrian military.
He was respected, invited on military tours, and granted access to places where outsiders were never allowed.
Of special importance were his trips to the Golden Heights.
These mountains towered over northern Israel, and the Syrians had turned them into a mighty fortress.
Concrete bunkers, long range artillery, mortar positions, all of it had kept Israeli settlements below in fear for years.
Eli studied every detail with care.
He took photographs and sketched maps, then passed them on to Israel.
In this way, Mossad obtained precise charts of the Syrian fortifications.
There is a legend.
During one of his visits, Cohen pretended to worry about the soldiers standing for hours under the blazing sun.
He suggested planting trees to give them shade.
The Syrian officers agreed.
Later, those rows of eucalyptus trees became perfect markers for Israeli artillery.
Cohen also discovered that the defenses were built in three lines.
three rows of bunkers and mortar positions, not just one, as was previously believed.
This information allowed the Israeli army to prepare for the real battlefield ahead.
Equally important were his reports on Syria’s plan to divert the headarters of the Jordan River.
The Syrians intended to block the flow to deprive Israel of water.
Eli provided detailed information about the equipment and locations of the works.
Israeli aircraft struck with precision and destroyed the earth moving machines before the project could be completed.
All of this became part of the so-called water war.
Thanks to Cohen, Israel was always one step ahead.
When the 6-day war began in 1967, his intelligence proved invaluable.
The Israeli army knew exactly where enemy positions were, how many defensive lines awaited them, and which weak points to exploit.
The capture of the Golan Heights took just two days.
Eli Cohen did not live to see this victory, but it was his work that made it possible.
He gave his life and changed the course of history.
In March 1963, another coup took place in Syria.
The Bath regime rose to power and with it came the growing influence of military intelligence.
The new head of the security services was Colonel Ahmed Sweden.
From the very beginning, he distrusted figures from previous circles and regarded Camelamin Tibet with suspicion.
To this hard-nosed officer, the businessman seemed far too successful and far too close to the generals.
Meanwhile, Eli’s situation was becoming increasingly dangerous.
He continued to transmit information, but he felt the storm clouds gathering around him.
In November 1964, he secretly returned to Israel.
There he saw his newborn son Sheay for the first time and told his handlers bluntly it was time to stop.
His exposure was only a matter of time and he wanted to stay with his family.
But Mossad made a different decision.
The intelligence he was providing was too valuable and the tension in the Middle East too great.
He was ordered to return one more time.
Eli obeyed, though deep inside he knew he was risking everything.
Before leaving, he promised his wife Nadia that this would be his final mission, just a little longer, and then he would return for good.
But fate had other plans.
Elie Cohen had been operating in Syria since January 1962.
His undercover career was going brilliantly until that day in January 1965 when everything collapsed.
According to the recollections of Syrian intelligence chief Ahmed Suedani, suspicions did not arise by chance.
The Syrians learned of Cohen’s contacts with a man of highly suspicious ties.
That man was Majid Shik Alard, the very same person who had helped Cohen cross the border and who had accompanied him throughout his years in Damascus.
After Cohen’s arrest, Allard was detained as well.
Eli had left Syria and returned several times.
His fifth entry into the country was on November 26th, 1964.
By then, the situation had become tense.
The Syrians had arrested two CIA agents operating in Damascus.
One of them, Farhan Atassi, knew Cohen.
After that, Syrian intelligence began closely monitoring everyone who had any connection to the US embassy.
On December 1st, 1964, Eli met Alard for lunch.
During the meal, Alard let slip that he had recently met a man named Rosolio.
It soon became clear this was none other than Nazi war criminal France Rodmacker hiding in Damascus.
Cohen pretended not to believe him, but was intrigued.
Allard, right in front of him, dialed Rodmaker’s number.
40 minutes later, Eli and his friend were sitting in the safe house of the former Nazi, just a 10-minute walk from Cohen’s own apartment.
The very next day, Eli enthusiastically reported to Tel Aviv.
The war criminal had been found.
His report included Rodmacher’s exact description, address, and details of the apartment, but Israeli headquarters did not appreciate the discovery.
He was ordered to drop the pursuit and return to his primary mission.
Later, American documents revealed that Majid Alard had once again tried to be useful to US intelligence, passing along everything he had learned from Radimacher.
This meant that knowledge of the trio meeting, the Syrian businessman, the Israeli spy, and the Nazi may have reached not only the Americans, but also the Syrians.
The theory put forward by Noam Nochman, author of Eli Cohen, Open Case, is supported by testimonies.
Syrian intelligence likely learned of this meeting very quickly.
For them, the picture was clear.
Alard, known to be an American informant, a man linked to the US embassy, and the mysterious businessman, Thibet.
At least one of them must have been engaged in secret activity.
Logic dictated that the should be placed under surveillance.
That is exactly what happened.
According to Suedani and the officer who took part in the raid, Cohen was put under close watch.
Soon after they decided to strike.
In January 1965, they stormed his apartment and discovered spy equipment, radio transmitters, receivers, and ciphers.
Interestingly, witnesses later recalled that the Syrians did not yet realize they had captured an Israeli agent.
They only knew one thing.
They had caught a spy.
The scale and importance of his work would only become clear to them later.
Thus ended the legend of Camelamin Tabet.
And so began the tragic final chapter in the life of Eli Cohen.
In February 1965, Eli Cohen stood before a military tribunal.
The trial was swift and harsh.
He was sentenced to death for espionage.
On the eve of his execution, Cohen met with Damascus’s chief rabbi, Nissim Inibo.
Into his hands, he entrusted his farewell letter for Nadia and their children.
These became his final words to his family.
On May 18th, 1965, at 3:30 in the morning, the sentence was carried out.
Eli Cohen was publicly hanged in Damascus’ Maria Square.
His body remained there for 6 hours, a grim display meant to intimidate the crowd.
Afterward, Syrian authorities refused to return his remains to Israel.
According to official accounts, he was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Damascus.
But the story did not end there.
5 years after the execution, Israeli intelligence attempted a covert operation to retrieve Cohen’s body and bring it to Israel for rearial.
The mission failed.
In response, the Syrians moved his remains to a bunker approximately 30 m deep located within a military compound in Damascus.
Since then, Israel and Cohen’s family, led by his brother Maurice and his wife Nadia, have continued the unending struggle to bring his body home.
This story remains one of the most painful chapters in Israel’s national memory.
After Eli Cohen’s execution, his name became a legend.
In Israel, he is honored as a national hero.
Streets and squares bear his name and his story is told as a symbol of courage, devotion, and the willingness to give everything for his country.
In 2018, an event shook his entire family.
The Mossad announced that it had recovered Eli Cohen’s wristwatch, the very one he had worn in Syria before his arrest.
For many years, it had remained in enemy hands before eventually appearing for sale.
The agency conducted a covert operation, purchased the watch, and returned it to Israel.
At the annual memorial ceremony, Mossad director Yosi Cohen presented the relic to the family.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a brave action whose purpose was to return to Israel the memory of a great fighter who contributed so much to the nation’s security.
Eli’s widow, Nadia, said she felt the watch was a part of his body, that his blood was on it.
his daughter added, “This is the first and only thing we have from our father.
” But an even more momentous announcement came in 2025.
After the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Israel succeeded in retrieving a complete archive connected to Cohen from Syria.
Mossad declared that the operation had been conducted with the help of foreign allies.
In Israel’s hands came about 2,500 documents and personal belongings.
Cohen’s letters to his family, photographs of his life undercover, forged passports, his original will written just hours before his execution, and even the keys to his apartment in Damascus.
The archive also contained Syrian intelligence reports on their surveillance of him, interrogation records, and a thick folder titled Nadia Cohen, which included his wife’s letters to world leaders pleading for his release.
These documents revealed for the first time how meticulously the Syrians had monitored him and how deeply he had penetrated into the highest levels of power.
The farewell letter that Eli Cohen wrote to his wife before his execution was among these recovered documents.
At last, Israel revealed it to the world.
These were the final words of the legendary spy.
To my dear Nadia, my beloved wife, I send you these last words from the depths of my soul.
With my heart full of love for you and for our dear children, I ask you not to live in grief, but to look forward to the future.
Raise our children with dignity.
Let them be good, honest, and loyal.
Teach them the love of their homeland and the love of their people.
My dear Nadia, be strong.
Do not let sorrow crush you.
Take care of yourself and of our children.
Live your life fully and do not remain alone.
If God wills, remarry and let another man share your burdens.
To my brothers and sisters, to all of my family, I send my love and my last greetings.
I forgive all who wronged me and I ask forgiveness from everyone I may have wronged.
Farewell, my beloved.
May God bless you and protect you.
May peace be upon you until we meet in heaven.
Today, these materials are preserved in Israel as a testament to his life and sacrifice.
The archive is set to become part of a museum exhibition, ensuring that future generations will have access to his story.
Eli Cohen never returned home.
His body still lies hidden deep in Syrian soil.
But his name, his deeds, and his courage endure.
For Israel, he will forever remain the man who single-handedly deceived an entire state and changed the course of history.
For more than 60 years, Israel and Eli Cohen’s family have been trying to bring his body back home.
Will it ever happen? Or will his secret remain buried forever in Syrian soil? What do you think, viewers? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
