IN MEMORIAM

On May 18, 1965, the Government of Syria executed Eli Cohen, despite protests from world leaders and Israel.

  • He was never allowed a defense at his trial.
  • He was brutally tortured during interrogation in defiance of international humanitarian law
  • His body was never returned to his family.

 

 

A Brother's Story

By Maurice Cohen

 

Maurice Cohen, worked for Mossad on a special project in the 1960's. At first Maurice was not aware who was sending the messages that he was decoding. As time went on, Maurice began to suspect that the messages were being sent by his brother Eli. Maurice's incredible story appears here for the first time. While Eli was in Syria, I served in the intelligence unit, which was responsible for Eli's activities. I encoded the transmissions sent to him and decoded those I received back. At first, I did not know who these messages were for, or who they were from. Later on I found out that the destination was Damascus in Syria, and our agent there was none other than Eli Cohen, known by his code name Kamel Amin Tabet, our man in Damascus. As part of my job, I had all the regular and secret codes that Eli's activators used to communicate with him. Eli and his activators would usually send a personal message at the end of the operative transmissions. One day I received the post script, "Did Nadia get the Singer sewing machine I sent her."

Welcome to Eli Cohen's Home-Page

Now there were no such words in the code book as 'Nadia', or 'Singer Sewing Machine'. I asked my commanders, "What is the meaning of this?" Their answer was, that it was a top-secret code, for which I did not have security clearance. Out of curiosity, I visited my sister in law Nadia that day, and I found that she in fact had got the sewing machine that Eli had mentioned in his message. In another message sent to Eli, the end of the telegram had the personal message, "Mlle. Fifi a Commence a Marche," Miss Fifi has begun to walk. Of course, I did not ask my commanders, but I went straight to my sister in law, and I saw that my chubby little niece Sophie, my brother Eli's daughter, had in fact taken her first steps, after taking slightly longer than most babies to begin. This was worrying Eli, and the message was sent to him to calm him down. At this point, I came to the conclusion that the man behind the lines was none other than my brother Eli. Eli would get vacations to visit Israel. During these times, false messages would be sent to the same destination in order to fool the enemy. On one of his visits to Israel, Eli brought a pair of house slippers for his daughter. They were velvet slippers, with golden embroidery, made in Syria. The size was imprinted on the slippers' soles in Arabic numbers. I became very excited, and asked Eli where he bought such nice slippers. Eli answered without hesitation, "From the Lafayette Gallery in Paris." I made it hard for Eli and continued to ask him if shoe sizes are written in Arabic in France. He got a bit uneasy and asked me sarcastically, "What is this, an interrogation? I told you I bought them in France. Maybe they were imported from an Arab country." Eli felt uncomfortable and tried to change the topic. He asked me if I had gotten a phone line for my new apartment, as I had recently moved and it was hard to get a phone line in those days. "You work for the postal service, so it should be easier for you to get a line," he kidded me. He didn't know that I was working undercover for the Israeli Army Intelligence. I told him that I had gotten a phone, and I'd give him the number. But instead, I gave him the number of his apartment in Damascus, which he had sent a short time before his trip to Israel. Eli started to write the number down, but stopped in the middle. His face turned red, his uneasiness was clear, but he calmed down immediately and told me that he had to run to the supermarket to buy something before it closed.

Eli called his commanders at the main base who activated him, and told them about what had happened with great fear and worry. They told him that there was nothing to worry about, it must have been a coincidence. But before Eli got back home, I was summoned to my base and warned not to discuss the issue with Eli anymore and not to reveal this secret to anyone. I kept this secret deep in my heart, unable to share it with anyone, especially my family. I knew the top security importance. I realized the brave stance my brother Eli took to defend his country, while placing himself in mortal danger. This knowledge tore at my heart and put me in a terrible dilemma. Should I cause Eli's essential mission to be halted and save his life so he could return to his family, but be considered a traitor by my people and country? Or should I disregard the information I had, and put Eli's safety into God's hands, and let him complete his sacred mission to save our holy land from destruction by a crazed and vicious enemy? I had no choice. After a long deliberation, I knew I had to take the second, painful option. The outcome of my choice is well known - Eli was ultimately caught and jailed in Damascus and tortured with a barbaric cruelty that is too agonizing to describe. After a long trial, for which Eli did not get an appropriate defense, he received the death sentence and he was hanged publicly in Damascus in 1965. However, the information Eli gathered helped Israel to win the Six Day War, and essentially released Israel from the threat of certain destruction. Eli went to his death as a proud Jew, the age-old prayer "Shma Yisrael" on his lips. He asked forgiveness from his family, and asked that we come together to say Kaddish for him and his father of blessed memory.

American Friends of Eli Cohen Memorial, Inc Statement:

The website is sponsored by Eli Cohen's brother Maurice Cohen and the American Friends of Eli Cohen Memorial, Inc., a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. American Friends of Eli Cohen Memorial, Inc. 6 Bat Shua Street, Ramat Gan, 52336, ISRAEL . Tel: 972 3 674 4577. American Friends of Eli Cohen Memorial, Inc is a private non-profit organization, 501(c)(3) in the State of New York. It was founded by Maurice Cohen, brothe rof Eli Cohen, Z'l, Our Man in Damascus. Our purpose is to ensure the remembrance of Eli Cohen, Israel's greatest spy, for perpetuity and to raise the funds needed to build and support the Eli Cohen Memorial Center in Israel which is now housed, courtesy of Maurice Cohen, President, in Beit Knesset Sasson in Ramat Gan. We have been given the honor of adopting the Unit that Maurice and Eli were in. Over the years we have also raised money for the Unit. An internal museum in memory of Eli Cohen was made this year at their headquarters by us. We are in the process of a major campaign to press upon Syria to return the remains of Eli Cohen for a proper burial in Israel. This is being done politically and through the signing of a worldwide Petition to President Bashar El Assad, President of Syria. All our activities revolve around KABOD:RESPECT, HONOR AND DIGNITY for all mankind, and to preserving the nation of Israel. Contact Information: Maurice Cohen, President, Belle Fine-Cohen, Administrator, American Friends of Eli Cohen Memorial, Inc. Website: http://www.elicohen.org E-mail:  ourmanindamascus@yahoo.com Telephone: 03 6744577- 054 4674457

Eli Cohen Memorial Tour - May 8 through 19, 2005

One of the most memorable and daring attempts to infiltrate Syria, which at the time controlled the Golan Heights and frequently shelled the Israeli settlers down below is that of Eliahu ben Shaoul Cohen an Egyptian born Jew. Eliahu ben Shaoul Cohen, worked as a Mossad agent in Damascus, Syria under the alias of Kamal Amin Ta'abet from 1962 until his exposure and execution on May 18, 1965. Cohen was able to supply considerable details on Syrian political and military matters because of his strong interpersonal skills and abilities to build close ties with business, military, and Ba'ath Party leaders, and Syrian President Amin el Hafiz. He was hanged in Martyr's Square with the television cameras rolling for the entire world to see.  Eli was privy to secrets of the Syrian elite including those of national security. Eli was considered to be named the Syrian Deputy Minister of Defense. He was the only civilian to receive private tours of military installations, even being photographed in the then Syrian controlled Golan Heights with high ranking Syrian officials looking over into Israel. As a result Eli sent highly informative reports back to Israel detailing the Syrian water deviation project and each and every one of the outposts on the Golan, including tank traps designed to impede any Israeli attack. Eli’s influence on Syrian officials helped Israel beyond measure. Eli suggested that the Syrians plant trees on the Golan near each of their fortifications. Based on the eucalyptus trees, Israel knew exactly where the Syrian fortifications were. Two years after his death, in June 1967, the intelligence Eli Cohen provided enabled Israel to capture the Golan Heights in two days as part of Israel's victory in the Six Days War. Eli Cohen was the greatest Mossad agent Israel has ever known. He was greatly admired by all, including the Syrians. His deeds fed and are still feeding the imagination and fantasy of many. He is a hero who sacrificed his life for the sake of Israel, his fellow Jews, his children and his family.

It is 38 years since he was hanged. The Syrian government still has not returned his remains to his family for a proper Jewish burial in Israel where 'Kaddish' can be said at his gravesite. It is Time; the Time Is Now, to demand that his remains be returned. Therefore, we call upon everyone to sign our Petition to Dr. Bashar el Assad, President of Syrian. Through this web site, we pay tribute to Eli Cohen, Our Man in Damascus, Israel’s greatest Mossad Agent. We remember his deeds through the words of his brother, Maurice Cohen, who was in the same unit that activated Eli, revealing up-to-date facts which were not told surrounding the story of Mossad’s campaign in Syria. This is an international educational site to increase people's knowledge of the contribution Eli Cohen made to the survival of the State of Israel and the Jewish people; and the history of the Middle East at the time. We hope to reunite his remains with the land and the family he loved so much.