One of Nelson Mandela’s old comrades, who helped the anti-apartheid leader hide out on a farm by posing as his employer, has died.
Arthur Goldreich died May 24 in Tel Aviv, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said in a statement. He was 82.
In his autobiography, Mandela des-cribes the South African–born Goldreich as having fought in the 1940s with the military wing of the Jewish National Movement in pre-state Israel. Mandela says Goldreich provided some guerrilla expertise to the then-nascent armed wing of the African National Congress.
Goldreich and his family pretended to be the owners of a farm on the outskirts of Johannesburg that was the ANC underground headquarters in the 1960s.
“A flamboyant person, he gave the farm a buoyant atmosphere,” Mandela wrote of Goldreich.
Mandela hid out for a time at the farm. Neighbors have spoken of seeing Mandela, whom they knew as David Motsamayi, in blue workers’ overalls selling produce on the street outside the farm.
A raid on the farm in 1963 led to the Rivonia Trial, and decades in prison for Mandela.
Goldreich was among those arrested. He and three others escaped from a downtown Johannesburg police station. Goldreich made it out of South Africa disguised as a priest and eventually settled in Israel.
Goldreich visited South Africa after apartheid ended in 1994 for a reunion at the farm, which now is a museum.
In addition to being an activist, Goldreich was an artist and designer. He created the sets for “King Kong,” a celebrated South African musical tracing the tragic story of a real-life boxer.
He is survived by his sons Nicholas, Paul, Amos and Eden.