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Execution of Eli Cohen (1965)

When:
May 18, 2026
2026-05-18 00:00:00 2026-05-18 00:00:00 America/New_York Execution of Eli Cohen (1965) Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen was an Israeli spy who worked in 1961–1965 for the Mossad in Damascus, Syria, where he developed close relationships with the political and military hierarchy and became the Chief Adviser to the Syrian Minister of Defense. Please refer to event page
Summary: Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen was an Israeli spy who worked in 1961–1965 for the Mossad in Damascus, Syria, where he developed close relationships with the political and military hierarchy and became the Chief Adviser to the Syrian Minister of Defense.

Eliyahu Ben-Shaul Cohen commonly known as Eli Cohen was born in Alexandria in 1924. Cohen under the alias of Kamal Amin Ta'abet, was an Israeli spy who worked in 1961–1965 for the Mossad in Damascus, Syria, where he developed close relationships with the political and military hierarchy and became the Chief Adviser to the Syrian Minister of Defense. The intelligence Cohen gathered in Syria was an important factor in Israel's success in the Six-Day War in 1967.

The Syrian intelligence authorities eventually uncovered the spy conspiracy, captured and convicted Cohen sentencing him to death in 1965.