Mossad intelligence agents have succeeded in retrieving thousands of documents, photos and personal effects of Israel’s legendary spy in Damascus, Eli Cohen, of blessed memory.
The material, collected by Syrian intelligence after his capture in January, was revealed Sunday for the first time on the anniversary of his execution. The operation involved the transfer of the official Syrian archive on Eli Cohen that had been held for decades by Syrian security forces. It was carried out with an “allied foreign intelligence service,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Among the documents was Eli Cohen’s original will, written by the Israeli spy hours before his execution. Several original documents and personal items that were in Syria were presented to Eli Cohen’s widow, Nadia. She never remarried.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad director David Barnea spoke with Cohen’s wife in an emotional meeting Sunday at the Prime Minister’s Office.
The announcement was made on the 60th anniversary of Cohen’s death. Known as “Our Man in Damascus,” Cohen penetrated deeply into the highest echelons of the Syrian government and military leadership. His identity was discovered by Soviet-trained officials, and he was subsequently hanged in the main square of Damascus on May 18, 1965.
The special archive includes approximately 2,500 original documents, photographs and personal items, most of which have been revealed for the first time. This material was collected by Syrian intelligence after his capture in January 1965 and include recordings and documentation from the files on Eli Cohen’s investigation and on those with whom he had been in contact, letters in his own handwriting to his family in Israel, photographs of his activity during his operational mission in Syria and personal objects that were taken from his home after his capture.
Bringing this historic material to Israel was the result of a decades-long effort by Mossad intelligence, operations and technology operatives to locate every bit of information about Eli Cohen to shed light on his fate and place of burial. Over the years, the Mossad has worked together with partners in the intelligence and security communities in Israel and around the world, and has carried out dozens of actions and operations, including in enemy countries.
Among his personal effects were found the keys to his apartment in Damascus, passports and false documentation he had used, and many photographs from the period of his covert activity in Syria, including documentation of Eli Cohen with senior Syrian government and military officials. Among the many records that were found in the registries and diaries that were collected from his home by Syrian intelligence were also found – inter alia – the missions he had received from the Mossad and which were to be carried out covertly, including a request to surveil a target and a mission to gather intelligence on Syrian military bases in Quneitra.
Also found among the many documents was the original sentence and the decision to execute him. In this document, the Syrian court determined that the head of the Jewish community in Damascus, Rabbi Nissim Indibo, of blessed memory, was to be allowed to minister to Eli Cohen according to Jewish tradition.
Among the many files located in the archive was a thick orange file entitled ‘Nadia Cohen.’ A survey of the file has revealed that the Syrian intelligence service reviewed all of Mrs. Cohen’s efforts to secure her husband’s release from Syrian prison, including the many letters she sent to world leaders and the President of Syria calling for his release.
Eli Cohen was a legend,” Netanyahu said. “In the test of time, he has been revealed as the greatest intelligence agent in the annals of the state; his heroism and his activity contributed to our historic victory in the Six Day War. The Eli Cohen archive, which was brought in a special effort, will educate generations, and expresses the unwavering commitment to bring back home all of our missing, captives and hostages,” he added.
Barnea called the recovery of the archive an achievement of the highest moral order and an additional step in advancing the investigation to locate Cohen’s place of burial.
“This important mission stands before us and we are committed to continue and do our utmost to realize it,” he said. “We will continue to act to locate and return all of our missing, fallen and hostages – the living for rehabilitation and the deceased for eternal rest after a proper Jewish burial.”
