Eli Cohen is one of the most famous spies in Israeli history, and he worked his way into the circle of Syrian leadership in the 1960s.
Operating as part of the Mossad, Cohen worked for years to embed himself within the movers and shakers of the Syrian Ba'ath Party. However, his career was put to an end by his discovery by Syrian intelligence and subsequent execution in 1965.
Since then, his body has remained in Syrian custody, and getting it back has been a goal of Israel for decades.
With the recent collapse of the Assad regime and increased Israeli military activity in Syria, speculation has risen that the Jewish state may attempt to retrieve Cohen's body once more.
But who was Eli Cohen? What did he do during his espionage work in Syria? How did he get caught? And what was the legacy of his actions?
Here is everything you need to know.
Who was Eli Cohen?
Not to be confused with the current Israeli energy minister of the same name, Eli Cohen was born in Egypt, where he spent years as a Zionist activist. It is believed that his espionage activities on behalf of Israel had gone on even then, allegedly playing a role in smuggling Egyptian Jews to Israel and taking part in a false flag operation known as the Lavon Affair.
After making Aliyah in 1957, Cohen served in the IDF in military intelligence. However, he was unable to join the Mossad for several years until he was recruited for the express purpose of infiltrating the Syrian government.
What sort of espionage work did Eli Cohen do in Syria?
Cohen assumed the identity of Kamel Amin Thabet, a Syrian businessman returning to his homeland after living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. To build up his credentials, Cohen actually moved to Buenos Aires and established his reputation as a supporter of the Ba'ath Party.
Once in Damascus in 1962, Cohen continued his built-up social life and managed to work his way into the social circle of the Syrian elite. This included throwing parties for them, where he would gather information by pretending to be drunk.
It was in this well-placed position that Cohen was able to relay critical intelligence information up until 1965. In particular, Cohen was very successful in getting the Jewish state information about Syrian military fortifications in the Golan Heights, which played crucial roles in the IDF's success in the Six Day War.
How did Syrian intelligence discover Eli Cohen?
For decades, there was a fierce debate about how Cohen was caught. Some commonly circulated claims are that Cohen was pushed too hard by the Mossad or that he was too risky.
However, the truth behind what exactly pointed the Syrians to Cohen's true identity is rather murky.
One clear fact is that following the 1963 internal coup in Syria, elements within the new leadership were suspicious of Cohen.
In addition, Syria received new technology for counterintelligence efforts from the USSR around the same time.
Another claim put forward by Noam Nachman-Tepper, author of Eli Cohen – An Open Case, is that Syria was tipped off due to having already captured US spies in Damascus in 1964.
According to Nachman-Tepper, the Syrians became aware that active espionage operations were being carried out by foreign nations within their country. As such, they began to monitor people connected with the US embassy, including a one-time informant named Majeed Sheikh al-Arad, a known friend of Cohen's in Damascus.
On December 1, 1964, Cohen and Arad met with a man named Rosolio, who, in fact, was Nazi war criminal Franz Rademacher and who was heavily involved in espionage.
Nachman-Tepper theorized that based on numerous documents and testimonials, Syrian intelligence was aware of this meeting between Arad, Cohen, and Rademacher and decided that, since they were suspicious of Arad and Rademacher already, they decided to investigate Cohen. That led to them breaking into his home on January 24, 1965, and arresting him, discovering his equipment in the process. Up until that point, Nachman-Tepper argued, Syrian intelligence did not know Cohen was an Israeli spy.
However, others claim that Syrian intelligence did, in fact, monitor radio transmissions and were able to track down the transmitter Cohen was using to send a message to the Jewish state.
In 2022, Mossad director David Barnea revealed that Syrian intelligence had intercepted a cable sent by Cohen on January 19, just five days before he was caught.
Regardless of how it happened, though, it is certain that he was arrested on January 24. He was tried and ultimately executed by public hanging on May 18.
Where is Eli Cohen's body?
The exact location of Eli Cohen's body is unknown, though is believed to be in Syria. Israel has long lobbied for its return but to no avail.
Syrian officials have revealed over the years that Cohen's body was actually buried multiple times in order to thwart Israeli efforts to retrieve it.
Despite this, the Mossad was able to, at the very least, retrieve Eli Cohen's wristwatch from Syria in 2018, and it is now displayed in Mossad headquarters.
Attempts at returning Cohen's body to Israel are ongoing.