Eli Cohen
| Eli Cohen אלי כהן |
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| Born |
Eliyahu ben Shaul Cohen 26 December 1924 Alexandria, Egypt |
| Died | 18 May 1965 (aged 40) Marjeh Square, Damascus, Syria |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Spouse(s) | Nadia |
| Children | Sophie, Irit, Shai |
Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen (Hebrew: אֱלִיָּהוּ בֵּן שָׁאוּל כֹּהֵן, Arabic: ايلي كوهين; 26 December 1924 – 18 May 1965), commonly known as Eli Cohen, was an Israeli spy. He is best known for his espionage work in 1961 – 1965 in Syria, where he developed close relationships with the political and military hierarchy there and became the Chief Adviser to the Minister of Defense. Syrian counter-intelligence authorities eventually uncovered the spy conspiracy, captured and convicted Cohen under pre-war 'martial law', sentencing him to death in 1965. The intelligence he gathered before his arrest is said to have been an important factor in Israel's success in the Six Day War.
Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria to a devout Jewish and Zionist family in 1924. His father had moved there from Aleppo in 1914. In January 1947, he chose to enlist in the Egyptian Army as an alternative to paying the prescribed sum all young Jews were supposed to pay, but was declared ineligible on grounds of questionable loyalty. Later that year, he left university and began studying at home after facing harassment by the Muslim Brotherhood. In the years following the creation of Israel, many Jewish families left Egypt. Though his parents and three brothers left for Israel in 1949, Cohen remained to finish a degree in electronics and to coordinate Jewish and Zionist activities. In 1951, following a military coup, an anti-Zionist campaign was initiated, and Cohen was arrested and interrogated over his Zionist activities. Cohen took part in various Israeli covert operations in the country during the 1950s, though the Egyptian government could never verify and provide proof of his involvement in Operation Goshen, an Israeli operation to smuggle Egyptian Jews out of the country and resettle them in Israel due to increasing hostility there.
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