Exclusive interview with the man who caught Israeli spy Eli Cohen Today, I began publishing an extensive interview with the man who arrested the Israeli spy Eli Cohen 60 years ago. It will appear in instalments in #AlMajalla Some journalistic stories do not end when they are published. They remain open. Years later, they come back to you, or you return to them. You discover that what you thought you knew in full was only part of the story. The story of the Israeli spy Eli Cohen in Syria is one of them. My reporting on this story began more than two decades ago. In March 2004, I interviewed Major General Salah al-Dallali, who presided over the special tribunal that tried Cohen and sentenced him to death in Damascus in 1965. Years passed. In 2019, Netflix brought Eli Cohen back to life, this time on screen, in the series *The Spy*. At the time, I wrote in our sister publication, *Asharq Al-Awsat*, about “ten historical errors” in the series. For me, the issue was not whether a drama had the right to use fiction. It was the distance between drama and history—and the fact that some scenes that would remain in the memories of millions of viewers had never happened. I thought that chapter was more or less closed until, during my visit to Damascus this past July, I received information I initially could not believe. I was told that Said Jawish was still alive. I began looking for him. It was not easy. After some effort, I obtained a telephone number. I called and waited. A clear voice came from an elderly man at the other end of the line. I introduced myself and explained why I was calling. He was kind, his voice calm. He was happy to talk about those days. He said his health allowed him to speak and his memory still held the details, although his eyesight had deteriorated badly. I told him I would return to Damascus, and he agreed to meet. I brought many questions about the details of the story. How had he uncovered Cohen? How had he arrested him? Was Cohen an important spy? Where were his remains? Where was his watch? Were there other spies? I had come to hear answers. The account of a man who had lived through those years. His memory was vivid. Behind us stood Mount Qasioun, and not far away was the house where the beginning of the end had unfolded. I placed three recording devices on the table between us and said: “Mr Said, I’ve started recording.” “Go ahead,” he replied. Here is the intro: en.majalla.com/node/333311/d…