After a week-long trip to the U.S., Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed Los Angeles on Thursday and was expected to arrive back in Israel on Friday afternoon. On Wednesday, Netanyahu joined a host of Hollywood stars for a dinner in his honor at the house of celebrated film producer Arnon Milchan. Israeli-born Milchan produced Oscar-winning film 12 Years a Slave. Among the dinner guests at the private event were Leonardo DiCaprio, Barbra Streisand, Kate Hudson, Keanu Reeves, Billy Crystal and James Caan. "You have an open invitation to come to Israel, because I think what you'll see when you get there is something very different from the portrayal that you typically see in the news media," Netanyahu told the star-studded audience. "There's a whole exciting country taking shape there, and id like you to come and see for yourself, form your own opinions directly, and then I want you take make movies about what you see. I want you to make the movies of the Israel that you see." Netanyahu arrived at the dinner after meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook and WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum. He asked the two high-tech giants to promote investment in the Israeli technology industry. The prime minister invited Cook to come to Israel and open operations in the high-tech sector in Beersheba. During their meeting, Netanyahu was shown Apple's current operations in Israel, which have expanded since being established about 2½ years ago.
Credit: GPO
The evening featured a question and answer period with Netanyahu, during which he presented his views on the situation in the Middle East, the Iranian threat and the Israeli economy.
Netanyahu tells Hollywood stars to make films about Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends star-studded dinner hosted by Israeli-born producer Arnon Milchan, is joined by Leonardo DiCaprio, Billy Crystal, Barbra Streisand, among others • Netanyahu: Come see Israel for yourselves, not just on the news.
