In a secret Mossad operation, over 2,000 documents, photos, and personal items belonging to legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen z”l were brought to Israel.
This is the letter Eli Cohen wrote to his wife Nadia after he was captured and brought to trial in Syria. Courtesy of Omer Shahar — here is the translation:
To my dear wife Nadia and to my beloved family,
I write to you my final words, asking you to always remain close to one another.
Nadia, I ask your forgiveness, and that you take care of yourself and the children, ensuring they receive a full education.
Do not deny yourself or them anything. Stay in contact with my family.
You may marry another so the children will not grow up without a father. You have my full blessing. Please, do not waste your time crying over what has happened. Always look to the future.
In a bold and highly secretive operation, the Mossad—together with a strategic partner agency—successfully brought to Israel the official Syrian intelligence archive on legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen (z”l). The collection includes thousands of items that were kept under tight Syrian security for decades.
This remarkable intelligence coup took place just days before the 60th anniversary of Eli Cohen’s execution on May 18, 1965, in the central square of al-Marjeh in Damascus.
Today, in a special ceremony attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad Chief David (Dadi) Barnea, a number of original documents and personal belongings were presented to Eli Cohen’s widow, Mrs. Nadia Cohen. Among the items shown was the original handwritten will Eli Cohen composed hours before his execution—until now, only a copy had ever been seen.
The recovered archive includes over 2,500 documents, photographs, and personal items—most of them never seen before. These materials were collected by Syrian intelligence after Cohen’s arrest in January 1965 and include audio recordings, handwritten letters to his family in Israel, surveillance photos from his covert operations in Syria, and various personal effects seized from his home after he was captured.
Among the items:
• The original keys to his Damascus apartment
• Forged passports and identification papers
• Photos showing Cohen alongside senior Syrian military and government officials
• His personal notebooks, which contained sensitive mission details—including surveillance tasks and intelligence gathering on Syrian military bases in Quneitra
• The original court ruling authorizing his execution, which also permitted Rabbi Nissim Andabo, the head of the Damascus Jewish community, to accompany Cohen in his final moments according to Jewish tradition
One particularly emotional discovery was a large orange file labeled “Nadia Cohen.” Syrian intelligence had compiled an entire dossier detailing her efforts to secure her husband’s release, including letters she had written to global leaders and to the President of Syria himself, pleading for mercy.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said:
“Eli Cohen is a legend. Over time, he has proven to be the greatest intelligence agent in Israel’s history. His courage and actions directly contributed to Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War. This newly recovered archive will educate future generations and reflects our unshakable commitment to bringing all our missing, captives, and fallen home.”
Mossad Director David Barnea added:
“This archive is a major moral and national achievement. It marks another critical step in our mission to discover where our agent is buried. We remain determined to locate and bring home all the missing, both living and fallen—those for healing, and those for eternal rest in Israel.
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