Our Dinner with Mordechai Vanunu

By Bill Dienst MD

On Monday March 7, the Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility met

with Mr. Mordechai Vanunu at St. George's Hostel in East Jerusalem. Mr.

Vanunu is famous around the world for exposing Israel's secret nuclear

weapon's program at the Dimona nuclear facility in the Negev Desert in

Southern Israel.

Mr. Vanunu explained his life's story to our group. He was born to a

Jewish family in Morocco. When he was 10, his family immigrated to

Israel. After high school, he completed his compulsory military service

in the Israeli Armed Forces. He then finished a year studying physics at

Tel Aviv University. When he was 22 years old, he was hired on at

Israel's Dimona Nuclear facility, in a top secret lab 23 meters

underground. His job was to help in producing plutonium.

He described himself as being 'apolitical' at this stage of his life, and

simply in need of a job. He worked at Dimona for 9 years, starting in

1979. In the 1980's, he also witnessed the production of materials to

produce a hydrogen bomb. He left Dimona in 1985, and returned to the

University, studying Geography and Philosophy.

By this time, he had become a political activist, and was active in "Peace

Now" against Israel's elective war and occupation in Lebanon. He also had

developed very serious concerns regarding Israel's ambitious nuclear

weapons program.While at Dimona, he was personally involved in producing 40 kg per year of

weapons grade plutonium, enough to make 10 nuclear bombs. By 1985, he had

decided that this secret must be revealed to the world. Israeli

intelligence agents had already questioned him about his political

activities at the University.

Two months before resigning, he discreetly took 60 photos of the secret

nuclear weapons lab at Dimona, and he didn't speak to anyone, and he did

not even develop the film until after he had left the country. By this

time, he had concluded that Israel was not a real democracy; especially in

it's persecution of native Palestinians.

He decided that exposing Israel's nuclear secrets would be his opportunity

to contribute to world peace, and add pressure toward demolishing these

weapons. In Sidney, Australia, he explained all this to a reporter from

The Sunday Times of London. He was invited to London to elaborate his

information for the newspaper. Initially, The Sunday Times delayed

publishing Vanunu's information until it investigated suspicions that he

might be an Israeli Mossad agent with an alternative agenda.

Meanwhile, he traveled to Rome with a woman who turned out to be a real

Mossad agent. He was kidnapped, and brought back to Israel to face

prosecution for treason. The Sunday Times subsequently published his

reports, with photos, and nuclear arms experts have estimated, based on

this information that Israel had already produced 500 kg of plutonium by

1985, enough for over 200 nuclear weapons, as well as enough material to

produce 200 hydrogen bombs.

Vanunu was convicted to 18 years in prison and spent 11 � of these years

in total isolation. He describes psychological torture intended to break

his will. He says Israeli authorities tried to brand him as a criminal.

He decided to stand firm, resorting to exercise and meditation, as well as

spirituality. By this time, he had converted to Anglican Christianity,

and read in a loud voice the New Testament for one hour per day. He would

also sing loudly to express his anger. He did have access to foreign

news. After 11 � years of solitary confinement, he completed the

additional 6 � years in Ashkalon Prison as a security risk. He was

finally released last year, with instructions not to talk with foreigners,

and unable to leave the country for an additional year.

Mordechai Vanunu was briefly re-arrested on November 11, 2004, during

world attention caused by the death of Yasser Arafat. Vanunu had been

practicing Civil Disobedience by continuing to talk with foreign

reporters, such as Democracy Now's Amy Goodman in August, 2004. He was

detained for only 12 hours by Israeli Authorities, who quickly yielded to

intense world pressures. He continues to speak out in spite of his gag

order.

Mr. Vanunu describes himself as an optimist, and denies the inevitability

of Armageddon that some people feel. "After all," he said, "this could

have happened during the Cold War between the US and the Russians but

rationality prevailed."

He supports current efforts to limit nuclear proliferation to countries

such as Iran and North Korea, but also insists on ending the current

silence and hypocrisy on Israel's nuclear capabilities. He favors a

nuclear-free Middle East, as well as comprehensive disarmament of nuclear

weapons worldwide.

Next: The Kiryat Arba'a Settlement in Hebron