LONDON: Israeli actor Chaim Topol, the star of the 1971 film “Fiddler on the Roof,” was involved in secret Mossad missions around the world, his family has claimed.
The actor, who died in Tel Aviv in March at the age of 87, used his London apartment as a base and met Mossad agents there who had been sent from Israel, his family told Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Topol, who took advantage of his fame and status as an international star, often visited embassies, airports and airlines of Arab countries, according to his widow Galia and children Adi and Omer.
One of Topol’s Mossad missions irritated the embassy of an Arab country from a neighboring apartment.
The actor’s spying activities largely took place in the 1960s and 1970s, while he was in London performing “Fiddler on the Roof” in the West End, his family claimed.
His widow and children said that he went on secret trips abroad during that period while equipped with a small Minox camera and a tiny spool tape recorder.
His son Omer said: “I don’t know exactly what the appropriate definition is for the missions and duties he performed, but what is clear is that Dad was involved in secret missions on behalf of the Mossad.
“His status in those years was that of an international star, and he could go anywhere he wanted.
“He had the ability to deliver documents and take pictures without anyone questioning anything.”
Topol would make regular visits to the Israeli Embassy, and his friend, Mossad officer Peter Zvi Malkin, would visit the family’s London home by creeping through the backyard.
Galia said Topol was “a kind of cover for [Malkin’s] operations.”
Zvi Zamir, who later became the head of Mossad, also regularly visited the family in London, they claimed.
Omer said Zamir visited them the day before the 1973 Arab-Israeli War started to inform them that “war will break out tomorrow.”
Ashraf Marwan, who was married to the daughter of former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, was the Mossad spy who warned Israel about the attack in October that year, according to Reuters.
Topol portrayed Tevye the milkman in the 1971 film and the 1967 London theater production of “Fiddler on the Roof.” He toured world theaters for almost three decades performing the musical play, according to the Jerusalem Post.
One of Israel’s most celebrated actors, Topol won two Golden Globes and was nominated for an Academy Award and a Tony Award.
