Israeli producer confirms spy role in past

Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan publicly acknowledged that he spent years working for Israeli intelligence in a capacity that included acquiring military equipment and technology for his home country. His remarks were made in an interview broadcast on Israel’s Channel 2 television program Uvda in November 2013.

Milchan, an Israeli billionaire known for producing more than 130 films including Pretty Woman, Fight Club and L.A. Confidential, confirmed that he had been recruited in the 1960s to work for the Israeli Bureau of Scientific Relations, also known as Lekem, a secret intelligence agency responsible for obtaining technology and material for Israel’s defense programs. Milchan described his intelligence work during roughly two decades before the organization was disbanded in 1987.

According to biographical accounts, Milchan’s work for Lekem involved procuring arms, technologies and other materials overseas on behalf of Israeli authorities during the 1970s and 1980s. His involvement in intelligence activities was detailed in the unauthorized biography Confidential: The Life of Secret Agent Turned Hollywood Tycoon Arnon Milchan and was confirmed by Milchan in the televised interview.

Milchan has continued his film production career while also maintaining business and political connections, though he no longer serves in an intelligence role. There has been no official legal action taken against him in connection with his past intelligence work.