Nadia Cohen, the widow of notorius Israeli spy Eli Cohen, on Wednesday dismissed claims made in a Reuters report suggesting that the documents and personal belongings of her late husband were handed over to Israel as a goodwill gesture from Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa—also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani—to ease tensions between the countries.
“I believe the Mossad,” Cohen said, following the Israeli intelligence agency’s announcement earlier this week that it had recovered around 2,500 documents, photographs, and personal items belonging to Eli Cohen in a covert operation. His remains have been held in Syria since his execution in 1965.
In its official statement, released close to the 60th anniversary of Eli Cohen’s hanging, the Mossad revealed that the collection includes his original handwritten will, which he penned just hours before his death.
Reuters, however, claimed that the Syrian president had offered the archive to Israel in hopes of gaining the trust of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Nadia Cohen recounted being invited to the Knesset on Sunday, where she met with the Mossad chief and the prime minister. “There were photographers there, and I had no idea what I was about to see or hear,” she said. “Dedi [Mossad director David Barnea] told me beforehand, ‘I’ll show you something small,’ and I remember wondering, ‘How is it the media hasn’t contacted us?’”
She said she had been hoping for the return of her husband’s wedding ring. “I dreamed of having it,” she said. “Dedi didn’t show me a ring, and I was incredibly tense. There was a long table covered with documents and a few items. I sat next to the prime minister, and he said, ‘This is our gift—we got it in Syria.’ I couldn’t believe it. I was deeply moved. My whole body was in shock.”
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Cohen said she was told that the documents were discovered hidden in deep tunnels, stored inside massive safes. “How did they get there? Why were they put there? Why were they even preserved?” she said. “They told me it was only half a percent of what the Mossad found—2,500 documents in 16 binders. But I want his body. I want Eli. I hope that before I die, before I close my eyes, Eli will have a grave here.”
“A complete archive of a man who served his country”
Cohen reiterated her trust in the Israeli intelligence services. “I believe only in our Mossad. They, through their own secret operation, brought these things back. I don’t believe that al-Julani gave us such a gift. Why wouldn’t he have kept it for himself?”
She added, “I hope they find Eli and bring him home for burial.”
Cohen described the collection as a complete archive of a man who gave his life for Israel. “It included the keys to his apartment, his forged passport, and letters he wrote before he died—they only let him write in Arabic. The documents were well preserved and still look amazing even after 60 years.”