60 years after he was hanged, Israel recovers Syrian archive belonging to famous spy

TEL AVIV – Israel has retrieved thousands of items belonging to the country’s astir celebrated spy aft a covert cognition successful Syria.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared immoderate of the 2,500 items from the Syrian archive relating to Eli Cohen, an Israeli spy who infiltrated the governmental echelon successful Syria, with Cohen’s widow. Sunday marked 60 years since Cohen was hanged successful a quadrate successful Damascus.

The items precocious spirited into Israel see documents, recordings, photos, and items collected by Syrian quality aft his seizure successful January 1965, letters successful his ain handwriting to his household successful Israel, photographs of his enactment during his operational ngo successful Syria and idiosyncratic objects that were taken from his location aft his capture.

Suitcases of items brought to Israel included worn folders stuffed with handwritten notes, keys to his flat successful Damascus, passports and mendacious recognition documents, missions from the Mossad to surveil circumstantial radical and places, and documentation of each the efforts of his widow, Nadia Cohen, begging satellite leaders for his merchandise from prison.

Cohen’s occurrence successful Syria was 1 of the Mossad spy agency’s archetypal large achievements, and the top-secret quality helium obtained is wide credited with helping Israel hole for its swift triumph successful the 1967 Middle East War.

Eli Cohen managed to forge adjacent contacts wrong the governmental and subject hierarchy of Israel’s archenemy successful the aboriginal 1960s, yet rising to go a apical advisor to Syria’s defence minister. In 1965, Cohen was caught radioing accusation to Israel. He was tried and hanged successful a Damascus quadrate connected May 18, 1965. His remains person yet to beryllium returned to Israel, wherever helium is regarded arsenic a nationalist hero.

In 2019, histrion Sasha Baron Cohen portrayed Eli Cohen (no relation) successful a six-episode Netflix bid called “The Spy.”

“We conducted a peculiar cognition by the Mossad, by the State of Israel, to bring his (Eli Cohen’s) archive, which had been successful the safes of the Syrian quality for 60 years,” Netanyahu told Nadia Cohen connected Sunday successful Jerusalem.

Ahead of viewing the items, Nadia Cohen told Netanyahu that the astir important happening was to bring backmost Cohen’s body. Netanyahu said Israel was continuing to enactment connected locating Cohen’s body. Last week, Israel recovered the assemblage of an Israeli soldier from Syria who had been missing for much than 4 decades, aft helium was killed during a clash with Syrian forces successful Lebanon successful 1982.

“Eli is an Israeli legend. He’s the top cause Israeli quality has had successful the years the authorities existed. There was nary 1 similar him,” Netanyahu said.

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