Prolific Hollywood Producer Reveals His Double Life As An Israeli Spy
The book "Confidential" details Milchan's double life as a hotshot and Israeli intelligence operative, which the multi-billionaire never discussed on the record.
Milchan reportedly told interviewer Ilana Dayan that he set up bank accounts and companies to acquire material and equipment for Israel's secretive LAKAM economic espionage unit. He reportedly operated 30 companies in 17 different countries at the peak of his spying activity.
"Do you know what it was like to be a 20-something guy whose country decided to let him be James Bond? Wow! The action! That was exciting," Milchan, who was born in 1944 in what was then Palestine, told Dayan.
In the 70s, Milchan brokered deals for hundreds of millions of dollars between Israel and U.S. companies for helicopters, missiles, and other equipment.
Milchan, who is good friends with current Israeli President Shimon Peres, told Uvda that he then helped Israel obtain key nuclear equipment and information while Peres built the Dimona nuclear reactor as Director-General of the Ministry of Defense.
(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who used to work for Heli Trading Co., is also a friend of Milchan.)
Milchan's company, Heli Trading Co., brokered the shipment of 800 krytons - sophisticated triggers for nuclear weapons - from the California company MILCO International Inc. to the Israeli Ministry of Defense between 1979 and 1983.
In 1985, the U.S. indicted MILCO President Kelly Smyth on 30 counts of smuggling and making false statements.
When asked about the transactions, Milchan told Dayan: "I didn't know Israel ordered the triggers. I didn't even know what triggers were."