Schwarzenegger gave bronze eagle sculptures to his visitors at a video production company in Santa Monica, just west of Los Angeles. In turn they presented Schwarzenegger with “Bring Them Home” dog tags.

Declaring himself “a big friend of the Jewish people and Israel,” Schwarzenegger said he wanted to amplify the message not to abandon those who remain captive.

Israel says Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, took 240 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack that also killed 1,200 people and set off a Middle East war.

During a seven-day pause in fighting that ended on Friday, officials said 110 hostages – 86 Israelis and 24 foreigners – were released in exchange for Palestinian detainees, while the bodies of two hostages were recovered by Israeli troops.

“This is where I come in because when you’re a celebrity, then you have a certain kind of a power to communicate to the mass because you have a lot of cameras show up,” said Schwarzenegger, the former champion bodybuilder and Hollywood screen star whose show business career was interrupted by his time as governor from 2003 to 2011.

Among those meeting the “Terminator” star was Bar Rudaeff, 27, whose father Lior Rudaeff, 61, was taken from the Kibbutz Nir Yitzchak. He said Schwarzenegger was one of his father’s favorite actors.

“I remember watching a ‘Terminator’ movie with him in the living room. And I know that when he comes back, it will put a smile on his face,” Rudaeff said.

Schwarzenegger also met with Jacob Bohbot, 36, whose brother Elkana Bohbot, 34, was taken from the Nova music festival in Israel near the border with Gaza, and with Ella Shani, 14, whose cousin Amit Shani, 16, was kidnapped in the attack on Kibbutz Be’eri, taken to the Gaza Strip, and released on Wednesday. Ella’s father, Itzik Kozin, was killed in the kibbutz attack.

The meeting was arranged by the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem.

Jerusalem (AP) — Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan was testifying Sunday at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial to answer questions about an alleged “supply line” of champagne and cigars funneled to the Israeli leader and his wife said to have been in exchange for help with Milchan’s personal and business needs.

Milchan, who appeared by videoconference from the English city of Brighton, near where he is based, is a key witness whose testimony is essential for prosecutors who are trying to prove that Netanyahu committed fraud and breach of trust in one of three cases brought against him.

Prosecutors hope Milchan’s testimony, which extends through this week and next, will paint a picture of plush favors granted to Netanyahu and his wife that allegedly spurred the Israeli leader to use his position of power to advance Milchan’s interests. The defense will try to lay out its case that Netanyahu wasn’t acting in Milchan’s personal interests and that the gifts were just friendly gestures.

Prosecution and defense lawyers are questioning Milchan in a hotel conference room in Brighton. While no journalists are allowed to be present there, Netanyahu’s wife Sara, on a private visit to Britain, will sit in.

Milchan’s testimony, expected to last six hours a day, is being aired in a Jerusalem courtroom for judges and other lawyers — who can also ask questions of him — and for journalists and other attendees to watch.

Netanyahu, who has attended some of the hearings during his trial, arrived to the courtroom shortly after testimony began, flanked by his security detail and aides. Milchan, who is not charged in the case, greeted him in Hebrew using Netanyahu’s nickname: “Shalom, Bibi!”

Israeli Channel 13 aired footage of Sara Netanyahu and Milchan, 78, walking separately up the stairs in the hotel. A screen was set up in the Jerusalem courtroom to air the testimony.

According to the indictment, Milchan, whose production credits include such hits as “Pretty Woman” and “12 Years a Slave,” gave Netanyahu and his wife boxes of cigars and crates of champagne over a period of several years that, along with jewelry, amounted to a value of nearly $200,000 — what the indictment describes as a “supply line” of lavish gifts.

The indictment accuses Netanyahu of using his influential perch to assist Milchan to secure a U.S. visa extension by drawing on his diplomatic contacts, among them former Secretary of State John Kerry. Prosecutors also accuse Netanyahu of working to push legislation that would have granted Milchan millions in tax breaks.

“Considering the many links between the defendant Netanyahu and Milchan, the defendant Netanyahu should have entirely avoided dealing with Milchan’s affairs,” the indictment says, adding that Netanyahu and Milchan, an Israeli citizen, have had ties since 1999.

Milchan is testifying in one of three cases being brought against Netanyahu. The other two, for which he is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, accuse Netanyahu of exchanging regulatory favors with powerful media moguls for more positive coverage.

Netanyahu denies wrongdoing, claiming he is the victim of a witch hunt orchestrated by a liberal media and a biased justice system.

Netanyahu’s legal woes have dogged him politically, putting his fitness to rule while on trial at the center of a political crisis that sent Israelis to the polls for five times in under four years.

They also have fueled accusations by critics that Netanyahu is pushing a contentious government plan to overhaul Israel’s judiciary as a way to escape the charges. Netanyahu denies those charges.

The trial, which began in 2020 and has still not heard from Netanyahu himself, has featured more than 40 prosecution witnesses, including some of Netanyahu’s closest former confidants who turned against the premier.

Witness accounts have shed light not only on the three cases but also revealed sensational details about Netanyahu’s character and his family’s reputation for living off the largesse of taxpayers and wealthy supporters. Milchan’s aide, Hadas Klein, testified last year that the family “loves gifts.”

The idea of a plea bargain has repeatedly surfaced, but prosecutors for now appear determined to see through the trial, despite reports last week that the judges warned them that the more serious crime of bribery will be hard to prove.

Jerusalem (AP) — Israel’s opposition leader testified Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apparently tried to persuade him — twice — to back legislation that would have given a Hollywood mogul millions in tax breaks.

But Yair Lapid, a former prime minister himself and a major Netanyahu rival, said he was not convinced.

Lapid made the statements as he testified in Jerusalem in one of three corruption cases against Netanyahu. The indictment claims Netanyahu used his position of power to further Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan’s interests in exhange for gifts, representing a conflict between the premier’s public duties and personal friendship.

Netanyahu did personal favors for Milchan, including asking U.S. officials to extend Milchan’s U.S. resident’s permit and extending Israeli regulations exempting Israeli returnees from declaring foreign income, according to the indictment.

Lapid testified Monday that Milchan and his attorneys had tried first without success to persuade him that extending the tax breaks for a decade would be good for Israel, Israeli media reported. Then Netanyahu broached the matter twice with Lapid, he testified — once at the prime minister’s residence and once outside a Cabinet meeting, according to the reports.

Lapid said he told Netanyahu that it wasn’t going to happen, and the prime minister responded that it was “a good law.”

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, denies claims of wrongdoing, saying he was not acting in Milchan’s personal interests and even occasionally acted against them. He says the exchanges of gifts were just friendly gestures.

Milchan is expected to testify in the case in a video call from London, where he resides, sometime later this month.

Haaretz newspaper has reported that in 2013 Lapid, then finance minister, sought legal advice on the possibility of promoting the legislation that would have benefitted Milchan. Earlier, Lapid had reportedly said he replied, “no way,” to Netanyahu and Milchan about the prospects for the legislation.

Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate scandals involving powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. He denies wrongdoing.

Critics say that Netanyahu is driven to weaken the courts and change the judicial system as a way to open an escape route from his trial, claims he dismisses as untrue.

The corruption charges also have been at the center of a protracted political crisis that sent Israelis to the polls five times in less than four years — each vote essentially a referendum on Netanyahu’s fitness to rule. After losing power in 2021 to a coalition of opponents, Netanyahu returned as prime minister late last year, despite his legal problems. Under Israeli law, the prime minister has no obligation to step aside while on trial.

The trial, which began in May 2020, has featured more than 40 prosecution witnesses, including some of Netanyahu’s closest former confidants who turned against the premier. Witness accounts have shed light not only on the three cases but also revealed sensational details about Netanyahu’s character and his family’s reputation for living off the largesse of taxpayers and wealthy supporters.