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Israeli Nuclear History

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Ben-Gurion, David

1886- 1973

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Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald)

1917- 1963

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Nuclear Proliferation

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September 3, 1963	Undated, unsigned handwritten note, possibly by Minister without Portfolio Galili Written by an unknown author (possibly Galili) to an unknown recipient, this document dates from September 1963. It points to the fact that Israel saw itself as stricltly in adherance to the nuclear-related commitments undertaken by Ben Gurion in his letters to President John F. Kennedy, referred to the note as “B.G letters”. The note consists of a list of short explanatory statements on the nature of these commitments and how Israel interprets them. Editor's note: Because of the unique provenance of this document, it should be treated as unauthenticated and interpreted skeptically. Readers are strongly encouraged to read the associated essay by Or Rabinowitz.
Date unknown	Undated, unsigned handwritten note, presumably written by Minister Pinchas Sapir to Minister without Portfolio Yisrael Galili Presumably written by Minister Pinchas Sapir to Minister without Portfolio Yisrael Galili, this handwritten and undated note underscores the tension between those in the Israeli leadership who spearheaded the construction of Dimona, led by Shimon Peres and Moshe Dayan, and those who doubted it and its financial feasibility, like Allon and others. Editor's note: Because of the unique provenance of this document, it should be treated as unauthenticated and interpreted skeptically. Readers are strongly encouraged to read the associated essay by Or Rabinowitz.
July 18, 1970	Undated, unsigned handwritten note, possibly by Minister without portfolio Israeli Galili discussing the publication of a story on Israel’s nuclear program in the New York Time Presumably written by by Minister Israel Galili some time in 1970, this note discusses the publication of a story on Israel’s nuclear program in the New York Times. According to the note, the story mentions “the agreement we have with the President,” alluding to the 1969 Richard Nixon-Golda Meir deal on Israel’s nuclear status. The note further attempts to analyze which source within the Nixon administration had approached the paper and leaked assessments on Israel’s nuclear capabilities, underscoring the secrecy and the sensitivity surrounding the 1969 understanding. Editor's note: Because of the unique provenance of this document, it should be treated as unauthenticated and interpreted skeptically. Readers are strongly encouraged to read the associated essay by Or Rabinowitz.
1969	Undated, unsigned handwritten note, presumably from Minister Yigal Allon to Minister without Portfolio Israel Galili This handwritten note, presumably from Minister Yigal Allon, most likely circa 1969-1970, demonstrates how Israel adopted the NPT’s nuclear test criteria for its own purposes, allowing the Israeli leadership to maintain that Israel was not a nuclear state. Allon’s adoption of the NPT’s nuclear test criteria mirrored Israel’s official language at the time when discussing the issue with state department officials. Editor's note: Because of the unique provenance of this document, it should be treated as unauthenticated and interpreted skeptically. Readers are strongly encouraged to read the associated essay by Ori Rabinowitz.
May 22, 1979	Letter from P. Lever to B.G. Cartledge, 'Pakistan's Nuclear Programme' The first part of this document is a letter from the FCO's Paul Lever to Bryan Cartledge, in which Lever details his thoughts on Prime Minister Begin's recent letter to Prime Minister Thatcher. The second part are speaking notes prepared for Thatcher, in preparation for her upcoming meeting with Begin (scheduled for May 23,1979, the day after Lever sent this letter.)
2019	Elie Geisler, 'The Israeli Nuclear Drama of May 1967: A Personal Testimony' Elie Geisler received training as a radiation-safety officer while serving as a solider at Dimona from 1964 to 1966. As the crisis escalated in late May 1967, Geisler was summoned to meet the head of the Minhal Madaii—the secret scientific administration in charge of the nuclear project—who gave him a special assignment: guarding a radioactive “package” to be placed under heavy security. The following testimony was relayed to Avner Cohen through several interviews and follow-up conversations and email exchanges.
December 20, 1963	Record of Premier Zhou Enlai's Calling on President Nasser Zhou and Nasser discuss domestic conditions inside of Egypt, the Sino-Indian border war, and the possibilities for a nuclear weapons free zone in Africa and the Middle East.
July 19, 1969	Memorandum from Henry Kissinger to Richard Nixon, "Israeli Nuclear Program"
June 4, 1957	Department of State Office of Intelligence Research, 'OIR Contribution to NIE 100-6-57: Nuclear Weapons Production by Fourth Countries – Likelihood and Consequences' This lengthy report was State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research's contribution to the first National Intelligence Estimate on the nuclear proliferation, NIE 100-6-57. Written at a time when the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom were the only nuclear weapons states, the “Fourth Country” problem referred to the probability that some unspecified country, whether France or China, was likely to be the next nuclear weapons state. Enclosed with letter from Helmut Sonnenfeldt, Division of Research for USSR and Western Europe, to Roger Mateson, 4 June 1957, Secret
December 27, 1962	Rodger P. Davies to Phillips Talbot, 'Second Inspection of Israel's Dimona Reactor' Summary of second US inspection of Dimona. Although inspectors "were taken to Dimona without advance notification, [and] they had spent only a short time there," they felt that "the visit was satisfacotry in that the AEC technicians could confirm that the reactor is not a power reactor but rather a large research reactor.