Last year, Syria finally returned Eli Cohen’s papers and effects to the State of Israel, sixty years to the date of his execution for espionage. These historical documents were not yet available to this new documentary series chronicling Cohen’s undercover work. However, it reveals previously unseen transcripts of Cohen’s show trial, which ended in a horrifyingly public execution. Tragically, Cohen’s family and friends also have good reason to believe his handlers pressed his luck, pressuring Cohen to return to Syria, even though the Mossad [rightly] suspected his cover was already blown, as they explain in researcher-writer-directors Liora Amir-Barmatz & Eyal Tavors’ three-part Field Agent 566, which premieres tomorrow on ChaiFlicks.
As everyone duly notes, the Egyptian-born Cohen did not look Israeli, at least not according to shallow stereotypes. In this case, those stereotypes were convenient to the Mossad. Cohen did not look like James Bond either, even though Sacha Baron Cohen (no relation) largely played him that way in Netflix’s The Spy. Nevertheless, the rather reserved Eli Cohen forced himself to regularly patronize Damascus’s top night club, to entertain his high-ranking contacts in the Syrian government.
Experts widely consider Cohen one of the most effective clandestine agents in the history of espionage, providing key intel regarding Syrian fortifications in the Golan Heights, which he managed to see with his own eyes. In fact, it was Cohen who warned the Mossad of Syria’s plan to divert the tributaries of the Jordan River running through the area, in hopes of cutting off Israel’s primary source of water. Indeed, Field Agent 566 should convince any open-minded viewer that Israel must always control the Golan Heights, not just for its safety, but for the sake of regional stability.
Of course, Cohen would be considered even more successful as a spy if he had lived. The first two episodes provided for review (out of three) focus on Cohen’s early life, the time and effort invested to build his cover, his intelligence triumphs, and his unnecessary capture. Presumably, the final episode covers his trial, execution, and the subsequent CYA’ing in the Mossad (which definitely will make it the most depressing of the three). Of course, Israeli audiences fully know what is coming, while Amir-Barmatz & Tavors clearly foreshadow his unfortunate fate for international viewers with excerpts from his “trial,” rendered for the screen in stark black-and-white animation.
Regardless, Field Agent 566 chronicles a fascinating chapter of 20th Century history that continues to illuminate current events in the Middle East. You cannot understand the significance of the Golan Heights without a thorough grounding in Syria’s coordinated military hostilities towards Israel, leading up to the Six Days War. Highly recommended by those intrigued by the history and the spycraft, Field Agent 566 starts streaming tomorrow (2/10) on ChaiFlicks.
