The Spy Series Review

The Spy is a 2019 Netflix series about renowned Israeli spy Eli Cohen. Eli Cohen, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, was recruited by the Mossad in the 1950s, and sent into Syria in the guise of being a businessman. Cohen was so good a spy that he managed to infiltrate the Syrian government at the highest levels before being caught and executed.

This post is both a review and a summary of The Spy. That is to say, it may contain spoilers.

The Need for Eyes and Ears in Syria

Israel and Syria were two of the most bitter rivals in the Middle East, as the two neighbors fought one another at their border in the Golan region just by Lake Tiberias. Israelis there, who were farmers and civilians, were constantly being attacked by Syrian forces, prompting the need for Israel to find a way into the Syrian government to gather crucial insights into their military positions.

The Mossad at the time, led by Jacob and his assistant Dan Peleg, played by Noah Emmerich, went out looking for an agent that they could plant in Damascus as there was an urgent need for intervention to prevent more deaths.

Eli Cohen

Eli Cohen, at the time, had moved to Israel after migrating from Egypt. He had a history of helping smuggle people out of Egypt into Israel and had applied to join the Mossad twice, getting rejected both times. As necessity called, Dan came across Eli Cohen’s file and set out to see whether he was a good fit for the spy agency. Eli, at the time, was working in a department store, living a simple life with his wife Nadia Cohen.

Is He the Right Fit?

Eli Cohen was brilliant. In fact, too brilliant and too eager to serve that Dan felt that maybe he was not the right fit for the espionage role. More and more people were dying due to attacks by the Syrians, however, and the Israeli Prime Minister demanded that an agent be sent to Damascus as soon as possible. In training that ought to have taken two years, Eli Cohen had been trained and was good enough for the job in just six months.

Buenos Aires

After completing his training, and choosing to carry on with his appointment as a Mossad agent, Eli Cohen was sent to Buenos Aires to start his mission. Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, was the perfect place for him to establish contacts as it was the hub for Arab leaders to unwind and socialize. Eli went to Buenos Aires, passing through Zurich in Switzerland where his handler Sigundil with his wife equipped him with what he needed.

Kamel Amin Thaabet

Eli Cohen took the identity of Kamel Amin Thaabet for his cover, a Syrian national who was returning to Syria, his homeland, after living abroad all his life. Kamel was rich and owned a textile business that was his father’s and was keen to go back to Damascus and contribute to the development of his country.

General Al Khafez

Playing this role, Kamel was able to work his way into meeting General Al Khafez, played by Waleed Zuaiter, the military attache in the Syrian embassy in Argentina, and made an acquaintance. Al Khafez and Kamel quickly became friends, with the friendship culminating in Al Khafez writing a recommendation letter for Kamel. The letter would pave way for Kamel’s travel to Syria and acceptance into the country.

The Road to Damascus

Despite a hiccup where one of the embassy men was killed and despite the prying eyes of Al Khafez’s head of security Ahmed Suidani, played by Alexander Siddig, Kamel managed to secure the recommendation letter and be on his way to Syria. He would enter Syria via Beirut, Lebanon where on getting there on a ship, he’d drive to the Syrian border. To ensure safe passage, Kamel would require the help of Sheikh Majid Al-Ard, played by Uri Gavriel, who he quickly befriended on the ship to Beirut. Al-Ard agreed to bring Kamel with him and helped him cross the border into Syria.

Thaabet Exports and Textiles

In Syria, Kamel set himself up pretty nicely, renting a lavish apartment in Damascus, just by a military base. He would use Morse code to send out information back to Israel and would complement his efforts by shipping out furniture with embedded hidden messages back home. He would do this under the guise of his export and textile company, Thaabet Exports and Textiles. Eli Cohen, as Kamel, was so good that he got out a boatload of useful intelligence that bolstered Israel’s view and knowledge of what was happening in Syria.

Ma’azi

Kamel then got to meet the nephew of the Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian army, Ma’azi and they quickly became friends. Through Ma’azi, played by Nassim Lyes, Cohen was able to visit Golan from within Syria and learn of the military set up the Syrians had installed at the border and that which they often used against Israel.

On taking a trip there and later meeting Ma’azi’s uncle, Kamel was well on his way to learning the secrets of the Syrian government. Eli Cohen was an ingenious spy, even suggesting that he plant trees on top of Syrian army bunkers as his gift to his new friends so as to provide shade to the soldiers. These trees pinpointed the precise locations of the Syrian bunkers to the Israelites, making them that much easier to attack.

The Ba’ath Movement

Kamel’s new friend, General Al Khafez, was part of the Ba’ath movement and as an ambitious man, elicited the help of Kamel to orchestrate a coup. Al Khafez elicited Kamel’s help, asking him to hold lavish parties at his place and invite Ma’azi’s uncle and certain cabinet ministers. This gave Al Khafez the opportunity to swiftly overthrow the Al-Kurdsi government. Al Khafez would go on to become president and a close friend to Kamel.

Nadia and the Kids

All this while, Nadia, played by Hadar Ratzon, had given birth to their first and second daughter with Eli. She was raising the two girls alone, thinking that Eli had become a buyer for the Israeli Department of Defense who’d procure furniture for the state. She had been kept in the dark about him being a spy, with Dan occasionally going to see her.

Eli’s absence took its toll on her, and she continually suspected that something was not what she was led to believe. Eli’s brother, Maurice Cohen, played by Amos Tamam, who also worked for Mossad, however, figured out that he was the renowned Agent 088, after being assigned to his communications. He almost revealed this but luckily Dan managed to help keep it under wraps.

Double Lives

Increasingly, living double lives took its toll on Eli, and on coming back home the last time, he’d felt he’d become Kamel and couldn’t reconnect to his true identity, Eli Cohen. He had gotten accustomed to living a lavish life and even got into a brawl in the department store where he previously worked when a security guard asked to see the receipt for the many expensive items he’d bought.

Deputy Defense Minister

At this point, Kamel had been offered the post of Deputy Defense Minister after becoming so close to Al Khafez. He’d taken a sabbatical before deciding and this was when he went back home the last time. His brother asked him to stay and Nadia literally begged him not to go back but Eli, too eager to prove that he was enough, decided to go back. He accepted the job of Deputy Defense Minister and after sharing intelligence with Israel that led to the attack of Shallal, was tracked down and captured.

Shallal

Shallal had been a secret project that Mohamed Bin Laden, a construction mogul from Saudi Arabia, and father to Osama Bin Laden, was working on. The project was intended to divert the two rivers that fed into Lake Tiberias, or the Sea of Galilee, and deny Israel its water. Al Khafez had instructed Bin Laden to elicit the help of Kamel to ship the needed pumps, which Kamel did and learned about the purpose of the project. He then shared intelligence on the same with Israel.

Captured

When the Israelites bombed Shallal, Suidani had already elicited the help of the Soviets to track down a suspected spy. Through high-tech equipment, they had tracked down signal interference to Kamel’s apartment. Eli Cohen was caught in the act and detained together with whoever had helped him over the years.

Al Khafez couldn’t believe it and when the entire Arab world laughed at him for being so aloof of the spy by his side, Syria decided to execute Eli Cohen despite Israel’s best efforts to prevent that from happening. On 18th May 1965, Eli Cohen was executed in Marjeh Square in Damascus, with the president watching on. Cohen’s body was then left on display for 6 hours.

A rough translation of what the sign attached to Cohen reads is that he was tried and the decision was made to execute him with approval from the head of the presidency council.

Nadia’s Campaign

Nadia’s world was shattered. In real life, Nadia Cohen has until today been campaigning for the release of Eli Cohen’s body. The Syrians refused to give back his body and over 50 years later, to this day are still to return the body to Nadia and Cohen’s family. Nadia still campaigns for the release of the body.

Recent news reports indicate that the body had been moved several times after the execution and only the current Syrian president and his close confidants knew of its location. These revelations came after a Syrian opposition group shared a video of the happenings right after Eli Cohen’s execution.

Our Rating

The Spy is a thrilling spy series that is based on a true story. It keeps the viewer on edge as a very confident Eli Cohen, with the cover of Kamel Amin Thaabet, navigates his way to the very top of the Syrian government. The series covers the story of the superspy and legendary Mossad agent so well that we give it a 9.8/10. The Spy is a definite must-watch and we couldn’t believe just how good a spy Eli Cohen was. We send our condolences to the family, and to Nadia Cohen and their two daughters and son. May Eli Cohen’s soul Rest in Eternal Peace. He was a true hero and legend.

Eli Cohen: Mossad Agent 88 Documentary on Aljazeera World

You can learn more about what is known of Eli Cohen’s life and death by watching the Aljazeera documentary about the spy below.