Israel's weapons of mass destruction

Saturday March 22, 2003 23:30

by mordechai vanunu

Who is Mordechai Vanunu ?

In September 1986 Mordechai Vanunu disclosed to the world that Israel had secretly produced 100-200 nuclear warheads. Before the publication of this information in the Sunday Times, he was kidnapped by the Israeli secret service. At a trial held in camera in Israel he was convicted of treason and espionage, and sentenced to 18 years imprisonment, of this the first 11 1/2 years were spent in solitary confinement.

Israel has between 200 and 500 thermonuclear weapons and a sophisticated delivery system. It has supplanted Britain as the 5th largest nuclear power. Possessing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and an aggressive strategy for their actual use, Israel provides the major regional impetus for the development of weapons of mass destruction and represents an acute threat to peace and stability in the Middle East. The Israeli nuclear programme represents a serious impediment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and is a potential nuclear flashpoint.

Mordechai Vanunu was employed as a technician at Dimona, Israel's nuclear installation, from 1976 to 1985. He discovered that the plant was secretly producing nuclear weapons. His conscience made him speak out and in 1986 he provided the London Sunday Times with the facts and photos they used to tell the world about Israel's nuclear weapons programme. His evidence showed that Israel had stockpiled up to 200 nuclear warheads, with no debate or authorisation from its own citizens.

http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/weapons.htm

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Comments (6 of 6)

Nuclear Ambiguity

by black frank

Sun Mar 23, 2003 16:59

More from the transcript of BBC Correspondent programme

"In 1969 Israel's Golda Meir and President
Richard Nixon struck a deal, renewed by every
President to this day. Israel’s nuclear programme
could continue as long as it was never made public.
It’s called nuclear ambiguity."

"Ambiguity is a luxury unique to Israel. Today the
country's an inspection-free zone, protected from
scrutiny by America and her allies."

"Israel never confirms or denies claims that it has nuclear, chemical and biological weapons."

"The country positions itself outside international treaties, which would make it subject to inspection."

More links

by one more

Sun Mar 23, 2003 09:20

The full list of articles about Israel's "secret weapons" is at

http://www.fas.org/news/israel/index00.html

Obsessive secrecy undermines democracy

by one more for the road

Sun Mar 23, 2003 09:18

Further good link about another Israeli who fell foul of the Israeli defense establishment ....

The story of an Israeli citizen by the name of Dr. Avner Cohen is a classic example of Israeli democracy's "black hole": the area of national security, to which the usual laws of a democratic society do not apply.Cohen's tale illustrates yet again that, whenever the subject is national security, any citizen forced to confront the establishment is totally helpless and can rely on almost no support - legal, social or institutional. The moment Cohen was "marked" by the defense establishment in Israel - on the basis of rumor and hearsay - as a criminal who had undermined Israeli national security, he became a pariah.

His colleagues in the academic world shun him, members of Knesset familiar with the details of the story are not prepared to intervene on his behalf, the criminal justice system works hand in glove with his persecutors, and his fate remains completely in the hands of the defense establishment, primarily, in the hands of a rather shadowy agency whose Hebrew acronym is MLMB and which is in charge of internal security within the defense establishment itself. It is only recently that the public has even learned of the existence of this agency.

http://www.fas.org/news/israel/000808-israel-1.htm

Nice one

by vanunu

Sun Mar 23, 2003 09:12

Nice link, black frank ...

I really liked this bit:

"In court, at his parole hearing, Avigdor Feldman, Vanunu's lawyer, argued that his client had no more secrets and should be freed.

But the prosecutor had a new argument: the imminent war with Iraq.

After the hearing Mr Feldman told Correspondent: "The prosecutor said that if Vanunu were released, the Americans would probably leave Iraq and go after Israel and Israel's nuclear weapons - which I found extremely ridiculous."

The real force blocking Vanunu's release is a man who was known only as "Y".

In 2001, "Y" was exposed as Yehiyel Horev and it is said that the only thing he fears is publicity.

Mr Horev is the head of Israel's most powerful intelligence service, dealing with nuclear and military secrets. His accountability has only been to the many prime ministers he has watched come and go in the 16 years he has built his power base.

He has been likened to the head of the FBI, J Edgar Hoover - an autocrat out of control.
Ronen Bergman, security correspondent for one of Israel's leading newspapers - Yediot Ahronoth - says: "Horev is a grave danger to Israeli democracy."

Hope Avi H. is not reading this .....
but he usually goes silent when confronted with unpleasant FACTS certain matters ....

Link to BBC 'Correspondent' Report on Vanunu

Sun Mar 23, 2003 00:33

Which country in the Middle East has undeclared
Nuclear weapons?

Which country in the Middle East has undeclared
biological and chemical capabilities?

Which country in the Middle East has no outside
inspections?

Which country jailed its nuclear whistleblower
for 18 years?

Opening lines from transcript of BBC Correspondent programme on Vanunu and Israel's WMDs shown last week. Strangely it was due to be shown directly after the Azores summit but was dropped and shown the next night. Although the BBC assure us that,
"There is no suggestion that any political pressure affected a scheduling decision by the BBC."

Mmmm. OK.

More info

Sat Mar 22, 2003 23:32

Sixteen years ago this Monday, an agent of the Israeli secret police, Mossad, enticed the thirty one year old Israeli nuclear technician, Mordechai Vanunu to a romantic weekend in Rome. The agent's code name was 'Cindy' and the romance ended abruptly with Mordechai being drugged, kidnapped and bundled into the hold of a ship which returned him to Israel where he was tried, in secret, charged with espionage and treason and given a prison sentence of eighteen years. His crime? In 1986 he had blown the whistle on Israel’s nuclear weapons. He was in London working with the Sunday Times Insight team on his revelation when Cindy swooped

In the absence of any international inspection of Israel’s nuclear capacity Vanunu is our unofficial, DIY, arms inspector. He is now, in his late 40’s, `living’ in Israel’s highest security prison, having spent twelve of his sixteen prison years in solitary confinement. Neither the UN nor any individual member of the Security Council has publicly questioned his imprisonment or demanded that Israel’s nuclear capacity be open to international inspection.

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Israel's weapons of mass destruction

Comments (6 of 6)