title: The Impossible Spy
text: # The Impossible Spy
  
  The Impossible Spy is a 1987 television film based on the true story of an Israeli civilian spy, Eli Cohen, who was recruited into Israel's secret intelligence agency (the Mossad) in the 1960s to become a spy in Damascus. Prior to his capture in 1965, Cohen was about to be appointed the third-most powerful figure in Syria—the Deputy Minister of Defense. Cohen's memorization of Syria's individual gun placements along the Golan Heights enabled Israel to defeat Syria in the Six-Day War in 1967.
  
  The film's executive producer was Harvey Chertok; it was directed by Jim Goddard and starred John Shea, Eli Wallach, and Sasson Gabai.
  
  The Impossible Spy was released in 1987 and won an HBO CableACE Award for Best Picture.
  
  