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Interviews by Avner Cohen

Research conducted by Avner Cohen for his book ''Israel and the Bomb,'' including interviews with key policymakers and scientists from Israel, the United States, and France that shed new light on the development of the Israeli nuclear program. (Image, US reconnaissance satellite photo of Negev Nuclear Research Center at Dimona, 1968)

Popular Documents

January 2008

Interview with Arnan 'Sini' Azaryahu by Avner Cohen

Transcript of interview by Avner Cohen with long-term Israeli government insider Arnan "Sini" Azaryahu, who served as a trusted aide and confidant to Minister Yisrael Galili, a close ally and advisor to Israeli prime minister Gold Meir. In this interview, Sini recounts a tense meeting held in Meir's office during the height of the 1973 Yom Kippur war, when Meir overruled a request from Defense Minister Moshe Dayan to prepare Israel’s nuclear arsenal for a demonstration blast.

June 15, 1993

Interview with Bertrand Goldschmidt by Avner Cohen

Transcript of Avner Cohen's 1993 interview with Dr. Bertrand Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt was a leading French nuclear scientist who helped develop the PUREX plutonium extraction technique. In this interview, Goldschmidt explains the background of the French role in constructing the Dimona nuclear facility.

October 7, 1973

Minutes of Prime Minister Meir's Cabinet Meeting, 7 October 1973

January 10, 1994

Interview with Myer 'Mike' Feldman by Avner Cohen

Transcript of interview by Avner Cohen with senior Kennedy advisor Myer "Mike" Feldman. Myer Feldman, close aide to JFK and special liason to Israel, discusses the negotiations between the US and Israel regarding the Non-Proliferation treaty in this 1994 interview.

June 17, 1993

Interview with André Finkelstein by Avner Cohen

Transcript of Avner Cohen's 1993 interview with André Finkelstein. Finkelstein, deputy director of the IAEA and a ranking official within the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), discusses Franco-Israeli nuclear technology exchange and collaboration in this 1993 interview.