Incognito
Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria, Egypt on December 26, 1928. By 1948 he was driven full force into the crisis developing with Syria. At a young age his parents instilled into their intellectually minded son the idea of Zionism with all its complexities. Eli grew up a devoted participant to the cause, and whilst his family moved to the relative safety in Israel, Eli remained behind and helped evacuate the Jews left in the once thriving town of Aleppo. But for the ever-increasing settlements in the north, mortar shells were a common occurrence and the authorities thought it was about time something was to be done to stop it.
When the Golan was captured near the end of the Six-Day war, the settlers led a normal life again and much of the credit of Israel's ability to capture the Golan was due to Eli Cohen - Israel's greatest spy.
Besides its military significance and bounty plantations the Golan produced 30% of Israel's water supply, mostly from snow falling down in winter, melting, and leaking down to Israel's water channels and to the lower valleys of Jordan. Israel tried concentrating all the waters supply to Israel and asked the permission for the go ahead to its Arab neighbours which adamantly refused, and in fact the reverse happened and the Jordanians started building dams to revert all the waters to Jordanian soil. Israel greatly angered by such an offensive act decided to send a spy to infiltrate the Arab council to accumulate information - destination - Syria.
At 29, Eli Cohen offered his services twice to the Mossad - Israel's intelligence body, who disregarded him and put him in the reserves as a desk clerk. At this time Eli must have been getting down hearted, he wanted to help, but where-ever he turned he was not excepted. The agency had concluded Eli had a high IQ, he was brave and clever and was articulate in French, English and Arabic, but with all this conclusive evidence they thought Eli to have too much self importance, a lot of inner unrest and calculated risks unnecessarily.
In August 31, 1959 he married a pretty Iraqi-born Jew Nadia Majald. He had a low paid job as an accountant, which became unsteady and he came mostly to live off his new wife's finances.
By 1960 the tension with Syria was at an all time high, and the Mossad needed a spy to infiltrate in the Arab community to provide vital information on the enemy's defences. Eli's files were looked over and the
Mossad changed their mind after all Eli spoke many languages fluently including Farsi. He was born in a Arab country he had an oriental
complexion and was willing to jump into the heat of the action when necessary. What was there to lose!
The Mossad asked Eli if he wanted to accept the job, he declined. But after a month Eli lost his job and was only to willing to accept, now.
"He was taught high speed evasive driving techniques, map reading, sabotage and, most importantly, radio transmissions and cryptology." Without these instrumental skills an operative has no hope of surviving long in enemy territory. Eli Cohen identity was changed to Kamal Amin Ta'abat, despite his change of identity Kamal, as he was now called, had the unmistakable Egyptian accent, which had to be changed to Syrian-Arabic. An Iraqi Jew, was chosen solely to teach Kamal, his lessons included learning Moslem and Arabic customs.
Intelligence was foreign to Kamal and this proved a whole new ball game. He had ...
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"He was taught high speed evasive driving techniques, map reading, sabotage and, most importantly, radio transmissions and cryptology." Without these instrumental skills an operative has no hope of surviving long in enemy territory. Eli Cohen identity was changed to Kamal Amin Ta'abat, despite his change of identity Kamal, as he was now called, had the unmistakable Egyptian accent, which had to be changed to Syrian-Arabic. An Iraqi Jew, was chosen solely to teach Kamal, his lessons included learning Moslem and Arabic customs.
Intelligence was foreign to Kamal and this proved a whole new ball game. He had to memorise his supposedly new family tree. Kamal was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Syrian Muslim parents.
According to his record details "The family moved to Argentina, where they opened a successful textile business." If the go a head was given the approval by the right authorities Kamal would be accomplishing his lifelong dream, returning to the land he was born in.... Syria.
In 1961 Chaim Herzog, the new chief of military intelligence gave the approval of Eli's mission as a spy operating in dangerous enemy territory.
When the departure date was issued his wife, Nadia, drove him to the airport to see him off. She understood full well that Eli was working for the ministry of defence on a secret vital assignment, and that Eli himself wished to proceed in this goal. She was told Eli would be safe and not encounters any danger, she believed that until his eventual capture in 1965.
Kamal flew straight to Buenos Aires, Argentina. He quickly became a well-renowned businessman and a high-flier with expensive taste. As his reputation grew he became friendly with politicians, diplomats and military officials working in the Syrian embassy. Kamal made a distinguished associate from a supporter of the secular-leftist, Ba'ath party, Colonel Amin al-Hafaz.
Kamal contacts invited him during lavish dinner parties and balls to come to Damascus to set up business ventures and was offered sums of cash to partake in his business deal.
A tedious nine months later, in 1961, Eli returned home to Israel to see his wife Nadia, who was ecstatic about Eli's return. But Eli did not stay with her for long, he hastily returned to Aman's headquarters for last minute training. Aman never expected the first part of the mission, to infiltrate political, social and military Syrian high command, to go so well so Eli had to be briefed on extra precautions and strategies to ensure the safety of Eli and his mission.
Kamal returned to Syria in 1962, under the pretence that he returned to Argentina on business and craved to return to his native land. A significant political issue had arisen. In 1961 Syria adjourned its union with Egypt and the Ba'ath party had come to power by 1962, in this party it included the Syrian Military attaché in Argentina, General Amin al-Hafaz.
Despite Kamal's enormous pressure from Israel to complete his goal and from this new Ba'ath party, Kamal spent most of his days in cafes listening to political gossip, and organising parties in his flat for high ranking Military officials, but these parties were mostly orchestrated for the women, who would get themselves drunk and reveal classified information, whilst Kamal pretended to be drunk but was in fact sober, and was clearly and methodically memorising all this vital bits of information and exposing them to Israel using his radio transmitter. Ever more increasing was Kamal Ta'abat's reputation, many people would mob to his apartment to get advice from the almond eyed Ta'abat. These included military officers, as Kamal reputation preceded him, he had to keep the steady influx of women ongoing. He claimed later that these women "would help him escape in time of crisis!"
With time Kamal was taken even more into the confidence of the highest echelons of power. He became a confidante of George Saif, high up in the Ministry of Information. The complete trust Ta'abat enjoyed among his oblivious informants is illustrated by the following incident, which might have serious consequences for the Israeli agents.
One day Kamal was sitting in Saif's office reading a classified document while the Syrian was on the phone. One of the ministry's directors entered the room unannounced.
'How is it that you dare allow a stranger to read a classified document?' he angrily asked Saif.
Saif calmly replied, 'There's nothing to worry about. He's a trusted friend.'"
When the Ba'ath took power in 1963, Eli was firmly established in Syrian high society. Meanwhile, every few days he transmitted important
information to his Israeli handlers via a radio transmitter he had hidden in his room.
Periodically Eli would return to Israel to speak with his Israeli handlers and visit his wife and small children. Altogether, he returned to Israel three times between 1962 and 1965.
At the beginning of my piece I described how the Jordanians were trying to divert all the Golan's water supply from Israel to their own soil Kamal befriended two highly placed Army officers, Colonels Hatoum and Dali, who were fully informed about the scheme. 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 Jordan's major sources - and empty into Jordanian territory." Kamal carefully spelled out all the details of the project and passed them on to Israeli Intelligence. Due to this information, the Israeli Air Force was able to obliterate the Syrian plans for the diversion scheme by shelling and bombing the bulldozers and other equipment used for the scheme in early 1964.
Eli's connections enabled him to be taken to the Golan Heights - a major strategic asset for Syria from 1948-67. As I stated, the Syrians continually harassed Israel's northern settlements from 1948-67. The Golan Heights defenses were top-secret and closed only to top military staff. "Nevertheless, Kamal succeeded in visiting each and every position. With senior staff officers acting as guides, Kamal was provided an in-depth intelligence briefing of monumental proportions." They even had the audacity to take a picture of Kamal on the Golan Heights, looking over into Israel, alongside the most high-ranking Syrian officers. What I appreciate so much about Kamal, is his ability to keep his composure whilst mingling with people he hated. He must have been scared out of his wits yet he withstood the challenge and acted vengeful towards Israel. 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 hinder any Israeli attack, were also identified and memorised for future targeting." One of the more famous aspects of his spying regarded a trip he took to the Golan Heights. As the Syrian Army officer explained to Kamal the fortifications the Syrian Army had built, Kamal suggested that the Syrians plant trees there to deceive the Israelis into thinking it was unfortified, as well as to
provide shade and beauty for the soldiers stationed there. The Syrian officer readily agreed - and Kamal immediately passed the information onto Israel. Based on the certain kind of tree planted, Israel knew exactly where the Syrian fortifications were.
Kamal's friendship with Amin al-Hafez proved very valuable. After Hafez became Prime Minister, Kamal was even thought of to be named the Syrian Deputy Minister of Defence.
But changes in the political situation began to worry Kamal. What's more was that the commander of Syrian Intelligence, Colonel Ahmed Su'edani
trusted no one and disliked Kamal. Kamal expressed his fear and wishes to terminate his assignment in Syria during his last visit to Israel in November 1964. Still, Israeli Intelligence asked him to return to Syria one more time. The information he had been providing them for years was too good to give up.
Eli did go back to Syria, but his behaviour changed. He became far less careful in his transmissions to Israel, sometimes calling once or even twice a day - and almost always at the same time, at 8:30 in the morning. The transmissions became longer as well. Some connected this to a sense of cockiness, due to the ability and ease he had moved about in the highest echelons of Syrian power. Others have attributed the carelessness to an almost suicidal inclination - perhaps, it was later surmised, he had been in the undercover world too long, but knew he couldn't get out of it. Because of that, perhaps he was just tired of the whole charade. I think Kamal at first did not recognise the full responsibility of the job, but he started missing his family and then started getting reckless.
The Syrians and their Russian advisers were alarmed by the intelligence that was seeping out of the country. The highly vigilant Russian security experts, equipped with very sensitive technical intelligence-gathering equipment, outlined the source of the transmissions in the Syrian capital - and it was Eli's home. One day in January 1961, Syrian intelligence broke into his home in the middle of a transmission. The leading figure in the break-in was the head of Syrian Intelligence, Colonel Ahmed Su'edani - Eli's opposition.
Eli was caught in the act and there was nothing he could do. He was tortured, but he wouldn't give away any incriminating information about Israel. His captors later remarked on his exceptional silence and his courage despite the horrific Syrian interrogation methods. Eli at this point must have been thinking about his family, and that is the only reason how he coped under this terrible ordeal without giving anything away.
Yoni Jay English - Incognito
He then participated in a show trial, his verdict was predetermined.
World leaders, wealthy individuals, the Israeli government, the Pope, and others all intervened on his behalf. But it was to no avail. He was hanged on May 18, 1965. He wrote a last letter to his wife before he was hung in front of a seething crowd. The execution was broadcast on Syrian television. After his execution, a white placard filled with anti-Zionist writing was wrapped around his body and he was left hanging for six more gruelling hours.
Eli Cohen provided an incredible amount of intelligence data to the Israeli Army over a period of three years. In 1967, the Israelis were able to
capture the Golan Heights in two days - part of this was due to the intelligence he provided. As Intelligence Chief Meir Amit said, Eli "succeeded far beyond the capabilities of most other men."
What is perhaps most amazing about Eli Cohen is that he was genuinely liked, even loved by so many of the top Syrian leaders. He had made such
an impact on Syrian national defences, and understood almost all of their secrets. He genuinely fitted into life in the Syrian capital and he was never suspected of being a spy until almost the very end.
It is for these reasons Eli Cohen is known as Israel's greatest spy.
Information sites:
Gideon's spies - book.
Internet sources.
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