Eli Cohen : The Israeli Spy Who Almost Became Syria’s President

Eli Cohen was the Israeli spy who built a false identity, crossed into Syria with a briefcase of hidden weapons, and rose so high that his name was reportedly discussed for deputy defense minister and even the presidency. This Eli Cohen documentary tells the true story of "Kamel Amin Thabet," from his recruitment to his capture and execution in Damascus. Want to dive deeper into the incredible real-life history of Eli Cohen? Check out the biographies and historical research materials used to script this documentary on Amazon: 👉 Mossad & Espionage Books: https: https://link.amazon/B08h5xf6T ⚖️ AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE: As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through the links above at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting the channel! How does one man get that deep inside an enemy's government? And what small rule, broken one time too many, finally exposed him? Eli Cohen (Eli Yahu Cohen), the Israeli spy who operated deep inside Damascus as the Argentine businessman Kamel Amin Thabet (also spelled Thabit), reveals the risks of espionage. This video follows his path from a Syrian-Jewish family that left Aleppo for Egypt, where the Israeli agent Abraham Dar, posing as the British businessman John Darling, gave him his first jobs, to Israeli military intelligence Unit 188 under Meir Amit. After six months of training, Cohen built his false identity in Buenos Aires. There, the newspaper editor Abdul Latif Hassan introduced him to Syrian circles, and he met Amin al-Hafiz, the future Ba'ath Party leader who took power in Syria's 1963 coup. Inside Syria, Cohen worked his way up through Kamal al-Hassan and the officer Ma'azi (Mazi), who drove him through military positions on the Golan Heights. He sat in on government meetings and learned of the Jordan River diversion plan at Banias, where he met Mohammed bin Laden, the father of Osama bin Laden, who held some of the contracts. He transmitted from an apartment in the Abu Rumana district of Damascus, until Syria's radio-silence trap, using Soviet-supplied detection vans, began with a search of the Indian Embassy and ended at his door. You'll also see the trial, his public execution on 18 May 1965, Israel's attempts to save him, and the mystery that remains: his grave was moved three times and has never been found. Often called a Mossad agent, Eli Cohen remains one of the most famous spies in history. Some details of his life are disputed, and we note where accounts differ. CHAPTERS 0:00 In This Vedio .. 0:51 The Man Behind the Mask: Eli Cohen's Briefcase 2:18 A Spy in the Making: Eli Cohen's Early Life 6:21 Recruited for the Impossible: Unit 188 11:54 The Birth of Kamel Amin Thabet 17:01 Inside Damascus: Eli Cohen's Spy Life 22:33 The Secrets of the Golan Heights 25:33 The Intelligence That Changed Everything: The Jordan River Plan 27:21 The Signal That Exposed Him: How Eli Cohen Was Caught 32:08 The Price of His Secrets: Trial and Execution 34:07 The Spy Who Never Came Home: The Missing Grave Some visuals are cinematic reconstructions, not archival footage. Britannica, Eli Cohen: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eli-Cohen National Library of Israel, How Eli Cohen, Israel's Man in Damascus, Was Captured: https://blog.nli.org.il/en/eli-cohen Grey Dynamics, Mossad Espionage in Damascus: https://greydynamics.com/mossad-espionage-in-damascus-in-the-lions-den/ Jewish Virtual Library, Eli Cohen: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/eli-cohen Wikipedia, Eli Cohen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Cohen Ynet, Former Assad aide: Eli Cohen's burial site unknown: https://www.ynetnews.com/article/3589788 Al Majalla, Said Jawish interview, Part 3: https://en.majalla.com/node/333376 If you enjoy stories like this, subscribe to Man and Myth by NBK for a new story every week. #elicohen #isreal #spy #mossad #syria #middleeast #historydocumentary