16 Iyar - Eli Cohen - 1965On this day in 1965, Eli Cohen was publicly hanged in Damascus, Syria maki
16 Iyar - Eli Cohen - 1965On this day in 1965, Eli Cohen was publicly hanged in Damascus, Syria making today his yartzeit. Cohen was born in Alexandria Egypt to a devout Jewish and Zionist family. In 1947 he chose to enlist in the Egyptian army to avoid the tax Jews were forced to pay for not joining, but he was rejected due to loyalty suspicions. His family left for Israel in 1949, but he remained to finish his schooling. During the next 6 years, he was active in both Zionist activity and covert Israeli operations that he was never found guilty of. In 1956 following the Suez crisis, he was expelled from Egypt together with most of the remaining Jews. In 1957 he was recruited by the IDF and attempted to join the Mossad. He was initially rejected. In 1961, he was recruited to be an asset in Syria as none of the present agents were fit for the job. After six months of training, he went to Argentina to establish his cover.In February 1962, he moved to Damascus under the alias Kamel Amin Thaabet, a Syrian businessman returning from Argentina. He began socializing amongst Syria’s military and political elite. He would have parties at his home where the alcohol was free-flowing. He would feign intoxication and listen closely to the free speech of those who were truly drunk. Cohen became a chief advisor to the Minister of Defense and might have even been considered for the position of Deputy Minister. One of Cohen’s most notable achievements came when he visited the Golan Heights. After being shown all of the bunkers he showed concern for the Syrian soldiers being out in the hot sun. He advised planting Eucalyptus trees to shade the bunkers. These trees were used to identify the bunkers during the 6 Day War where Israel captured the Golan Heights in 2 days with relative ease. In 1965 the Syrians stepped up their efforts to find a high-ranking mole. Using Soviet equipment, they were able to identify Cohen and apprehended him at his apartment while he was transmitting intelligence to Israel via radio. Cohen was tried, found guilty, and publicly hanged in Martyrs Square in Damascus. Rabbi Pinchas L. Landis -- source link
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