Sir Roger Moore, most famous for having played James Bond in more films than anyone else (7), has died at the age of 89.
I’ll leave it to the news sites to inform about his tremendous career. Given my main topic is Israel, I thought I would post about Roger’s connection to Israel.
Sir Roger’s first trip to Israel was in the late 60s, when he received a personal guided tour from Teddy Kollek, then mayor of Jerusalem. He would later recall his fond memories of it.
Then in 2009, Sir Roger was the guest of honor at the Eilat Chamber Music Festival. He donated his fee to a UNICEF program where Israeli expertise is used to train doctors to perform male circumcision as a way of reducing AIDS transmission in Africa. BDS-holes tried to talk him out of it, but he remained neither shaken nor stirred by them.
“Although I received an open letter from some organization advising me not to visit Israel, I didn’t pay attention,” he said, adding that he recommends visiting and already hopes to return.
Roger expressed his amazement at how the country – especially its capital – had grown and developed during the four decades between his trips. And he went out of his way to see as much as possible.
Sir Roger and his wife decided that for part of their stay they wanted to behave like genuine tourists, so they got themselves a map and planned a tour schedule that included Jerusalem, the Dead Sea area and Masada.
During that trip, Sir Roger was photographed at the Western Wall, including one where he is giving charity to a beggar. Mensch!
Sir Roger returned for the Eilat Chamber Music Festival the very next year, display his trademark charm and sense of humor.
It is no surprise that Israeli actor Topol – who starred with Sir Roger in the 1981 film For Your Eyes Only – said it was “a joy”, because Roger was “so wonderful to work with.”
RIP Sir Roger Moore. Many of your fans in Israel, as well as around the world, are going to miss you.
