Eli Cohen, in full 

Eliahu ben Shaoul Cohen, also called Kamal Amin Thaabet, Israeli spy
who infiltrated the highest ranks of the Syrian military and government by posing as a Syrian
businessman. Between 1961 and 1965 Cohen passed Syrian secrets to the Israeli
government in what is remembered as one of the most daring and productive intelligence-
gathering operations in Israeli history. His fluency in Arabic, English, and French made him
an attractive recruit for Israeli intelligence. He worked as a translator and an accountant
before once again being recruited by Israeli intelligence in 1960. Despite Cohen’s
considerable talent for espionage, he displayed a tendency for carelessness, ignoring his
Israeli handlers’ warnings against sending radio transmissions too frequently or always at
the same time of day. That proved to be his downfall. In January 1965 Syrian
counterintelligence identified his radio signal and apprehended him in the act of sending a
transmission. Cohen was interrogated, convicted in a military trial, and publicly hanged in
May 1965.
Cohen provided extensive intelligence data to the Israeli Army. He sent intelligence to Israel
by radio, secret letters, and occasionally in person—he secretly travelled to Israel three
times.
This intelligence was extremely beneficial for Israel, as it is said that it considerably improved
the Israeli Intelligence and even made Israel more prepared for the Six-Day War which came
two years after Cohen's death.

Eli Cohen was an Egyptian-born Israel spy, his real name was Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen. He
is famously known for his espionage work from 1961 to 1965 in Syria.

He established a close relationship with the Syrian political and military hierarchy and
became the chief advisor to the minister of defense.

His luck run out when he was uncovered by the Syrian counter-intelligence authority, he was
tried and convicted as a criminal under the pre-war martial law to the death penalty in 1965.

Despite his tragic demise, the intelligence he gathered he gathered as a spy is believed to
have been an important factor in Israel’s success in the six-day war. Here are the top 10
Facts about Eli Cohen.

He cultivated a good relationship with key figures in politics and the military.

He held parties as well as attended social gatherings as camouflaged to gather intelligent

information. He will let his guest indulge in alcohol and get intoxicated, and the ministers and
other political figures will discuss vital plans unaware of the spy among them. Cohen would
also pretend to get intoxicated and collect important data as he eavesdropped on political
gossip as well as other key information, he left nothing to chance and speculation.
It said that Eli Cohen had at least 17 lovers in Syria with a degree of family power and
beauty
He has collected an incredible amount of intelligence for the Israel army
For four years, Cohen provided a great amount of intelligence data that has aided the Israel
army the upper hand in winning against their foe. He sent the information to the army by
secret letters, radio, and occasionally in person.
According to a widely believed story, he feigned sympathy for the soldiers exposed to the
sun and had trees planted at every position, which was meant to provide shade. The Israel
defense army used this as a marker to identify the position of the enemy’s army.
Cohen has become a national hero in Israel and many neighborhoods and streets have
been named after him as an honor.
He succeeded in gaining the friendship of many influential members of
Syria’s community abroad before traveling to Damascus in early 1962
carrying their invaluable letters of introduction. There, he carried on a
high-powered social life, holding parties at his home that were attended
by high-ranking Syrian officials, whom he was able to subtly ply for
information.

Those connections enabled Cohen to collect more than political gossip.

His new friends invited him to tour Syrian military bases and, as depicted
in The Spy, to extensively visit the regime’s fortifications on the Golan
Heights, a strategically valuable piece of land that Israeli would later
seize in the 1967 Six-Day War . And as Cohen burrowed deeper and
deeper into Syria’s political and military hierarchy, he continuously sent
intelligence updates back to his handlers across the border, either
tapping out dispatches in Morse code, or smuggling documents out
through Europe.
Eli Cohen is that he was genuinely liked – even loved – by so many of the top Syrian leaders.
He had an input into and an impact on Syrian national defense and was privy to almost all
their secrets. He genuinely fit into life in the Syrian capital, and he was never suspected of
being a spy until almost the very end.

Cohen was the quintessential patriot, the essence of loyalty and dedication. He
loved his wife and children dearly, and was aware that he could be exposed at any
minute. But his desire to serve Israel to the best of his ability was all consuming –
and he paid for it with his life.