The Hollywood Producer Who Might Depose Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu
The Hollywood Producer Who Might Depose Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu
Producing blockbusters like “Pretty Woman,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” as well as making a fortune from the sale of arms, including covert operations to acquire weapons for Israel, his native country, Arnon Milchan’s life story could have been made into a movie.
He got into difficulties a decade ago when he revealed that he worked with Israeli intelligence. After discoveries he and others made regarding one of his companies’ unlawful export of items that could be used as nuclear triggers from the United States to Israel in the 1980s, the government of the country where he had long lived refused to renew his 10-year visa.
But his long-standing friendship with Benjamin Netanyahu—the Israeli prime minister at the time and since—served him well.
According to an Israeli indictment against Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Milchan’s visa was reinstated after Mr. Netanyahu successfully lobbied high American officials on his behalf.
As a key witness for the prosecution in the three connected but distinct corruption allegations against Mr. Netanyahu, Mr. Milchan will testify in court on Sunday. In one, he was accused of betraying trust because of his interactions with Mr. Milchan.
As part of a gifts-for-favors scandal known in Israel as Case 1000, Mr. Netanyahu has been accused, among other things, of interfering twice with American officials to secure Mr. Milchan’s visa.
Prosecutors said that Mr. Milchan showered Mr. Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, with presents totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.
According to testimony in court from Mr. Milchan‘s personal assistant and his chauffeur, the majority of those gifts were pricey cigars and pink Champagne delivered to the prime minister’s official residence in Jerusalem and his private family in the seaside resort of Caesarea – frequently on demand. Ms. Netanyahu also occasionally received jewellery.
Mr. Netanyahu maintains that taking presents from an old friend is not unlawful and has denied any misconduct. He might go to jail if it is discovered that accepting such gifts put him in a conflict of interest. No criminal charges have been brought against Mr. Milchan.The trial has evolved into a demonstration of the lucrative confluence of money, power, and influence in Israel that Mr. Milchan’s friends claim he thrived in.
Ehud Olmert, a former Israeli prime minister who has known Mr. Milchan for decades, described him as “a person who is always anxious to be at the centre of attention.” “He must be the one who moves and fixes. He approaches those who are in positions of power; if you were a person of importance, he made an attempt to approach you.
Mr. Olmert claimed that the Hollywood producer cut him off as a friend after he abruptly left from office.
Mr. Milchan’s case was unrelated to Mr. Olmert’s, and Mr. Milchan was ultimately found guilty of bribery and sentenced to prison. Mr. Olmert added, “Once you are not at the centre of events you are not that interesting.”The 78-year-old Mr. Milchan also owns additional properties in Israel and an estate in Beit Yanai, a posh town with a view of the Mediterranean.
He has, however, declined to appear in person before an Israeli court and will instead testify by video conference from Brighton, England, which is close to where he is residing.
His attorneys most recently gave medical justifications for his unwillingness to visit Israel. In accordance with court records, Mr. Milchan hasn’t been there in at least six years, ever since the Israeli police questioned him over the corruption investigation involving Mr. Netanyahu.
At one point during the inquiry, Mr. Milchan was named as a suspect in what the police believed to be a possible instance of bribery. But Israel’s attorney general was unable to indict him.
Instead of responding to questions, Mr. Milchan’s team released a statement emphasising that he was “appearing only as a witness and is not suspected of any wrongdoing” and that he would “cooperate as much as necessary.”According to Tamar Almog, the legal affairs expert for Kan, Israel’s state television, “Milchan is the key witness in Case 1000.” She stated, alluding to claims of a gifts-for-favors scheme, that “his testimony is critical for understanding the relationship between the two men, and if it was a system, as described in the indictment.”
Additionally, Mr. Netanyahu is charged with favouring Mr. Milchan by pressing for the extension of a tax break and a merger of telecom companies that, according to the prosecution, would have provided Mr. Milchan with an investment opportunity.
A source with knowledge of the conversations, who requested anonymity to disclose private communications, said that Mr. Netanyahu made at least two urgent calls to then Secretary of State John Kerry in order to renew Mr. Milchan’s 10-year visa.
According to Mr. Netanyahu, because of Mr. Milchan’s contributions to both Israeli security and the American economy, he was obligated to assist him with obtaining a visa.
Mr. Milchan, who was born in 1944 in Rehovot, which would four years later become the state of Israel, took over his father’s failing fertiliser company and converted it into a multimillion dollar agrochemical enterprise. His net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $3.3 billion. He is wed to former professional tennis player Amanda Coetzer from South Africa.
Hadas Klein, Mr. Milchan’s longstanding personal assistant in Israel, provided testimony in court last year that painted a picture of a man who counted his pennies and was growingly concerned about the cost and legality of giving the Netanyahus with a consistent supply of expensive goods.
According to Ms. Klein, the Champagne would typically be delivered by the driver and Ms. Klein, and Mr. Milchan would bring the cigar boxes in a shoulder bag.
Ms. Klein said that Mr. Milchan would ask acquaintances who were travelling to buy him duty-free cigars in an effort to save money. At one instance, she claimed, he tried to buy a less expensive type for Mr. Netanyahu until the latter complained about them.
The indictment states that Mr. Milchan and Mr. Netanyahu’s personal friendship began in 1999, and the gift-giving took place between 2011 and 2016.Ms Klein stated in court that Mr Milchan “loved saying he was friends with the prime minister.” She continued, “He loved having an open door and an open queue to the Netanyahus.” She said that when James Packer, an Australian billionaire who adored Mr. Netanyahu, started paying for the cigars and Champagne in 2014, he was relieved.
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An unofficial book entitled “Confidential: The Life of Secret Agent Turned Hollywood Tycoon Arnon Milchan,” written by Meir Doron and Joseph Gelman and released in 2011, was the first to make reference to Mr. Milchan’s work with Israeli intelligence. The book revealed that Mr. Milchan was a full-fledged agent for Lakam, Israeli intelligence’s now-defunct Science Liaison Bureau, at least into the middle of the 1980s.
The book claimed that Mr. Milchan oversaw government-backed accounts and front firms that funded clandestine Israeli operations outside of Israel, including purchasing supplies for the construction and upkeep of Israel’s nuclear weapons.
Mr. Milchan has denied any wrongdoing and stated that he was unaware that the components were being shipped without the necessary authorizations.But he gave off the impression that he was determined to shed his reputation as an arms dealer who benefited from significant commissions in his dealings with Israel.
He boasted about his achievements to Israeli security beginning with his recruitment in the 1960s when he made an appearance in a well-known Israeli documentary programme in 2013.
Do you understand what it’s like to be a young person in their 20s and have your country allow you to be James Bond? he said. “Wow. Action like that is thrilling.
He argued that the commissions he received went back to Israel and claimed to have repeatedly endangered his life for his nation while flying the show’s host around in a private aircraft and giving her a tour of his art-filled Malibu estate.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Olmert described Mr. Milchan as having a deep passion for Israel. But to claim that he was ordered to put his life at danger would be to stretch the truth.
