The second story that I had chosen for my outside reading had been one titled The Lemon Tree. But half way through my first book, I came across a book in one of my storage boxes, one that had been given to me a long time ago. (Don’t you just love when you come across something at just the right time!?) The story is called Our Man in Damascus: Elie Cohn, written by Eli Ben-hanan. It’s description is accurate: “the thrilling, shocking, true story of Israel’s most daring spy.” This story redeemed my outside reading, because at that point I was disappointed and bored with my other book (which I had to get very far into before realizing my disappointment in it!), and I was having trouble finding any films to watch. But because espionage stories have always thrilled me, this book perked my interest!
The story is just as the description, an inside story on the life of an Israeli spy and his vital mission in Syria. The front cover gives the end away- it shows Elie being hanged, with a huge sign and big Arabic letters on it. The story was published and printed in Israel and is set in the 1960’s. Elie’s mission involves becoming intimate friends with the Ba’ath supporters in Syria, who ultimately overthrew the then current Syrian government. This Ba’athist coup threw Elie into a position of being close friends with the new President and all of the main government officials. From what I understood in the story, the Ba’athists posed more of a threat to Israel, and by becoming close friends with the new Ba’athist leaders, Elie obtained crucial and top-secret information from them that he transmits back to Tel Aviv. This detailed information assured some of Israel’s victories over Syrian-planned attacks.
The book is very interesting, but it shows more of the war side of Israel than the culture or religious side, only because it is a short book focused on a spy. I am also not sure how to get multiple copies of the book, since it was given to me. But I definitely recommend it to anyone studying Israel who is interested in espionage!
Ps- this is a link to a little history of Elie Cohn:
http://www.jewishmag.com/67mag/eliecohn/eliecohn.htm
This book sounds interesting. The way you describe it - a biographical story, not just a biography or just a story about espionage - makes it intriguing. I'm glad you found something to make up for your disappointment in the other book(s).
ReplyDeleteSounds like a very interesting book... and like it's jam-packed with great insight into an aspect of the Israeli culture.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree... there's really nothing better than when you come across something you didn't know you had (like a book) that fits perfectly with what you're studying in a class! :-)