Age, Biography, and Wiki
- Age at Death: Eli Cohen was 40 years old when he was executed in Damascus, Syria, on May 18, 1965.
- Biography: Cohen grew up in Alexandria, Egypt, as the son of Syrian Jewish parents. His fluency in Arabic, English, and French made him an attractive recruit for Israeli intelligence. After being expelled from Egypt, he settled in Israel in 1957 and worked as a translator and accountant before being recruited by Israeli intelligence in 1960.
- Wiki: Eli Cohen's Wikipedia page provides extensive details about his life, espionage career, and legacy.
| Occupation | Spies |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | December 6, 1924 |
| Age | 101 Years |
| Birth Place | Alexandria, Egypt |
| Horoscope | |
| Country | Egypt |
| Date of death | 18 May, 1965 |
| Died Place | N/A |
Height, Weight & Measurements
There is no specific information available about Eli Cohen's height, weight, or other physical measurements.
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Dating & Relationship Status
- Marriage: Eli Cohen was married to Nadia Cohen. After his execution, Nadia continued to advocate for the return of his body, which remains in Syria.
His father had immigrated from Aleppo in the Ottoman Empire in 1914. Deeply committed to Judaism, Cohen had planned in his youth to become a rabbi with guidance from Moise Ventura (1893–1978), Alexandria's Chief Rabbi, but the city's yeshiva soon closed down, prompting him to pursue higher education at Cairo University. A staunch Zionist, he helped Israel evacuate the Egyptian Jewish community by assisting Israeli intelligence throughout Egypt. He was also fluent in five languages: Arabic, Hebrew, English, French, and Spanish.
At the onset of the Jewish exodus from the Muslim world, which began concurrently with the Arab–Israeli conflict, Cohen's parents and three brothers immigrated to Israel in 1949, but he stayed behind to complete his degree and also to help consolidate Zionist efforts among Egypt's Jewish community. Prior to the 1952 Egyptian revolution, he was arrested and interrogated by Egyptian authorities, who were becoming suspicious of his activities.
Nonetheless, he continued to engage in various Israeli covert efforts in Egypt throughout the 1950s, although the Egyptian government could never prove his involvement in Operation Goshen, by which the Israeli government smuggled a significant number of Egypt's Jews out of the country and resettled them in Israel. Cohen is also said to have aided Egyptian Jews who were taking part in what would become known as the Lavon Affair, by which Israel sought to sabotage Egypt's relationship with the Western world. Two members of the spy ring were caught and sentenced to death, but the Egyptian government was unable to find a link between Cohen and the perpetrators.
Following the 1963 Syrian coup d'état, newly appointed Syrian Intelligence Colonel Ahmed Suidani disliked Cohen and did not trust figures close to the Second Syrian Republic. Cohen expressed fear of discovery to the Mossad on his last secret visit to Israel in November 1964, and he stated that he wished to terminate his assignment in Syria. The purposes of that visit were to pass on intelligence and to enable him to witness the birth of his third child. Despite this, however, Israeli intelligence asked him to return to Syria one more time. Before leaving, Cohen assured his wife it would be his last trip before he returned home permanently. In January 1965, Syrian officials, who used Soviet-made tracking equipment and were assisted by Soviet experts, increased their efforts to find a high-level spy. They observed a period of radio silence, in the hope that any illegal transmissions could be identified. They successfully detected radio transmissions and were able to triangulate the transmitter. Syrian security services led by Suidani broke into Cohen's apartment on 24 January and claimed to have caught him in the middle of a transmission to Israel.
Cohen was publicly hanged in the Marjeh Square in Damascus on 18 May 1965. The execution was recorded on 35 mm film. On the day of his execution, his last wish to see a rabbi was respected by the prison authorities, and Nissim Indibo, the Chief Rabbi of Syria, accompanied him in the truck. He was also allowed to write a final letter to his wife.
Syria refused to return Cohen's body to his family in Israel, and his wife Nadia sent a letter to Amin al-Hafiz in November 1965 asking his forgiveness for Cohen's actions and requesting his remains. In February 2007, Turkey offered to act as a mediator for their return.
| Parents | |
| Husband | Nadia Majald (m. 1959) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As Eli Cohen passed away in 1965, discussing his net worth in 2025 is not applicable. His earnings during his lifetime were primarily from his work as a spy for Israeli intelligence, for which detailed financial records are not publicly disclosed.
Career, Business, and Investments
- Career: Cohen's espionage career was marked by his infiltration of the Syrian military and government hierarchy under the alias Kamal Amin Thaabet. He passed crucial intelligence to Israel, contributing significantly to Israel's success in the Six-Day War.
- Business and Investments: There is no information available about Cohen engaging in business or making investments outside his espionage work.
The Mossad recruited Cohen after Director-General Meir Amit, looking for an intelligence officer to infiltrate the Syrian government, came across his name while looking through the agency's files of rejected candidates, after none of the current candidates seemed suitable for the job. For two weeks Cohen was put under surveillance and was judged suitable for recruitment and training. Cohen was then informed that Mossad had decided to recruit him and underwent an intensive six-month course at the Mossad training school. His graduate report stated that he had all the qualities needed to become a katsa, or field agent.
Social Network
In today's context, Eli Cohen does not have a social network presence as he passed away decades before the advent of social media platforms.
Cohen provided an extensive amount and wide range of intelligence data for the Israeli Army between 1961 and 1965. He sent intelligence to Israel by radio, secret letters, and occasionally in person; he secretly travelled to Israel three times. His most famous achievement was the tour of the Golan Heights in which he collected intelligence on the Syrian fortifications there. According to an unconfirmed story, he feigned sympathy for the soldiers exposed to the sun and had trees planted at every position, placed to provide shade. The Israel Defense Forces were alleged to have used the trees as targeting markers during the Six-Day War, which enabled Israel to capture the Golan Heights in two days. Cohen made repeated visits to the southern frontier zone, providing photographs and sketches of Syrian positions. He also learned of a secret plan to create three successive lines of bunkers and mortars; the Israel Defense Forces would otherwise have expected to encounter only a single line. Cohen was able to find out that the Syrians planned to divert the Jordan River headwaters in an attempt to deprive Israel of water resources, providing information to Israeli forces that enabled them to destroy the equipment prepared for the task during the "War over Water". It is claimed that the intelligence that Cohen gathered before his arrest was an important factor in Israel's success in the Six-Day War, although some intelligence experts have argued that the information he provided about the Golan Heights fortifications was also readily available from ground and aerial reconnaissance.
In 2016, a Syrian group calling itself "Syrian art treasures" posted a video on Facebook showing Cohen's body after his execution. No film or video was previously known to exist of the execution. The press announced on 5 July 2018 that Cohen's wristwatch had been retrieved from Syria. His widow mentioned that the watch was up for sale months earlier, and Mossad managed to capture it. Mossad director Yossi Cohen presented it to Cohen's family in a ceremony, and it is currently on display at Mossad headquarters.
Education
- While specific educational details are not widely documented, Cohen received a brief espionage training course in Israel in 1955.
