Eli Cohen: The Spy Who Changed the Middle East

Today marks the anniversary of the execution of one of Israel’s greatest intelligence operatives: Eli Cohen.Operating under deep cover inside Syria during the early 1960s, Cohen infiltrated the highest levels of the Syrian political and military establishment, gathering intelligence that many historians believe helped shape Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six-Day War.In this episode, Avi Kaner explores Cohen’s extraordinary rise inside Damascus society, the intelligence methods that made him legendary, his eventual capture and public execution in Syria, and why his story still resonates across Israel sixty years later.The episode also examines the broader Israeli philosophy behind intelligence, adaptation, and survival in one of the world’s most dangerous regions.A story of espionage, sacrifice, deception, and the power of information in the modern Middle East.