In 2018 the Mossad recovered his wristwatch from Syria. Sixty-one years after they hanged him, it's the only part of Eli Cohen that ever came home. His story is episode 1. Follow for the rest of the series.

A man was hung in Damascus Square, thousands cheering Syria thinks this is victory, they have no idea what they just lost. This is episode one of my Israeli Mossad spy series. The year is 1965, all of Syria knew the man on the rope as Kabul Amin Tabet, wealthy businessman, friend of generals and ministers, except Kabul Amin Tabet never existed. His name was Ellie Cohen and he was an Israeli spy. Cohen was born in Egypt to Syrian Jewish parents, so his Arabic was flawless. Assad built him a new identity in Argentina, then sent him into Damascus in 1962. He threw parties for Syria's elite. They talked, he listened. Officers gave him personal tours of the Golan Heights fortifications. The bunkers pointed straight down at Israeli farms and everything he saw went straight back to Israel. But the way he sent it home, the thing that made him the best spy Syria never suspected, is the exact thing that killed him. Hidden in his apartment was a radio transmitter. In January 1965, Burian counterintelligence used new Soviet tracking equipment to trace the signal and they broke in mid-transmission. Torture, a show trial, no defense. On May 18, 1965, Syria hung him in Mirage Square in front of thousands. Two years later Israel captured the Golan Heights in two days, using what he sent. That's what Syria lost the day they thought they won. Ellie Cohen gave Israel high ground and paid with everything he had. Syria still holds his body. Israel is still asking for it back. Follow for episode two for more Israeli Mossad spy stories.