Nadia Cohen, Eli Cohen's wife
Photo: Zoom 77
Elie Cohen. The Israeli spy was hanged in Syria 40 years ago
Photo: GPO
MK gives Assad letter from spy's wife
Israeli Arab MK el-Sana gives President Bashar Assad letter from widow of legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who was hanged in Damascus 40 years ago
The wife of "our man in Damascus" sent a letter to Syria's president via Israeli Arab Knesset Member Talab el-Sana, in which she asked Syria to hand Eli Cohen's remains
to Israel.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will meet with the widow of Eli Cohen, the Israeli spy killed in Syria, following her request to release prisoners who aided Syria in return for her husband's remains.
Israeli Arab Knesset Member Talab el-Sana brought a letter from Nadia Cohen to Syrian President Bashar Assad, in which she asked him to reconsider the decision not to release the remains of the spy who was hung in Damascus 40 years ago.
'A sad and broken heart'
Family members preparing for a meeting with the prime minister found that around 10 to 12 prisoners convicted of aiding Syria are in jail in Israel. Alon Rihan, a lawyer representing the Cohen family, said that none of the prisoners had "blood on their hands."
Family members will ask the prime minister to release the prisoners in exchange for bringing the remains of Eli Cohen to Israel.
In her letter to Assad which she sent by way of el-Sana, who yesterday set out for Syria via Jordan, Landia wrote: "I am turning to his Excellency with a request that you agree, as a step of faith and humanity, to return the remains of my deceased husband… this request is made from a sad and broken heart… I hope that at the end of the day there will be peace between Israel and Syria. My deceased husband was hung and buried in Syria 40 years ago. During those years it was hard to bear the act of hanging. I'm not asking you do take this step for me, but for my children who didn't get to know their father."
"My daughter, Sofi, who has also signed this letter, has never seen her father. She hopes, like you, and like all the young people who run the world, that peace will reign between us. I have faith that we have the ability to put all the difficult conflicts of the past behind us and to look to a better future for us and our children. The passing over of the coffin of my deceased husband is a small step for Syria, but a big and important step for the Middle East, for starting the peace process in our area," wrote Nadia Cohen.
