Billionaire movie producer to testify from UK courtroom in Netanyahu corruption trial
Arnon Milchan, who produced Pretty Woman, will appear as a key witness at a courtroom in Brighton, to provide testimony in one of three corruption cases against Benjamin Netanyahu. He denies all claims of wrongdoing.
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
A billionaire film boss who is alleged to give Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu lavish gifts in exchange for favours will testify from a UK courtroom on Sunday.
Arnon Milchan will provide testimony from a closed courtroom in Brighton in the long-running Netanyahu corruption trial.
Milchan, best known for producing Hollywood blockbusters such as Pretty Woman, is a key witness in one of the three corruption cases against the Israeli pm.
In the case being discussed, “Case 1000”, Netanyahu is alleged to have received gifts from Milchan in return for personal favours while he was the Minister of Communications.
Netanyahu, who is charged with fraud and breach of trust, has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
He has claimed he was not acting in Milchan’s personal interests and even occasionally acted against them.
The exchanges of gifts were simply friendly gestures, he has said.
Protesters from the Defend Israeli Democracy group, the UK arm of the Israeli protest movement, will be protesting in Brighton on Sunday morning, outside the courtroom.
Milchan will be giving testimony in the Netanyahu trial via live video transmission to the Jerusalem District Court.
He was originally scheduled to appear on video call from the Israeli embassy in London.
But it was agreed that the Brighton courtroom would offer better facilities and security.
The Israeli prosecutors allege that in exchange for expensive gifts, Netanyahu arranged that US officials extend Milchan’s American resident permit, as well as extended to him regulations exempting Israelis returning from abroad from declaring foreign income.
The PM’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, will be present at the hearing in Brighton in place of her husband and her planned attendance has been heavily criticised in Israel.
Protests against the Netanyahu government’s attempted legislative coup have now entered their 25th week, bringing hundreds of thousands of Israelis onto the streets on a weekly and daily basis.
In the UK, Defend Israeli Democracy has so far organised several protests. During Netanyahu’s visit to London, over 2000 Israelis and British Jews protested outside Downing Street with hundreds also laying siege to the Savoy Hotel, where the prime minister and his wife took 60 rooms at the expense of the Israeli taxpayer.
Sharon Shochat of Defend Israeli Democracy UK added:“Netanyahu’s assault on Israeli democracy, only to save his own neck, has gone too far.
“An indicted Prime Minister is not fit for government and we will be reminding him that from every corner of the world.
“Protesters have demanded that Sara Netanyahu, who in Godfather fashion will be present at the testimony, should be ridiculed for the corrupt ‘first lady’ that she is but this is not personal. We stand here for democracy.’’
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