About
Eli Cohen was an Israeli spy born in 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt, to a Syrian Jewish family. Recruited by Mossad in 1960, he infiltrated Syria under a false identity, gaining access to the highest circles of power. His intelligence on Golan Heights fortifications and Soviet arms shipments contributed to Israel's victory in the Six-Day War. Arrested in 1965, he was publicly executed in Damascus. Regarded as a national hero in Israel, a museum dedicated to him opened in Herzliya in 2022.
* 1924-12-06 — † 1965-05-18
Key milestones
- 1961Deployed to Buenos Aires under the alias Kamel Amin Thaabet, posing as a Syrian businessman.
- 1965Arrested by Syrian counterintelligence in January, then publicly executed in Damascus on May 18.
- 2022Opening of the Eli Cohen Museum in Herzliya, led by his widow Nadia Cohen.
Themes
EspionageIsraeli-Arab conflictNational heroismSacrificeSecret identity
Sources: britannica.com · jewishvirtuallibrary.org