Table of Contents

Introduction 1. Men and Ethos 2. Before the Beginning 3. The Beginning 4. The Road to Dimona 5. Dimona Revealed 6. Kennedy and the Israeli Project 7. The Battle of Dimona 8. Debate at Home 9. Kennedy and Eshkol Strike a Deal 10. The Dimona Visits (1964-1967) 11. Ambiguity Born 12. Growing Pains 13. The Arabs and Dimona 14. The Six-Day War 15. Toward Opacity 16. The Battle Over the NPT 17. Opacity Takes Hold Epilogue

Promotional Information

This interpretive political history that draws on thousands of American and Israeli government documents-most of them recently declassified and never before cited-and more than one hundred interviews with key individuals who played important roles in this story.

About the Author

Avner Cohen is a senior research fellow at the National Security Archive at George Washington University. He has taught and researched in universities in Israel and the United States and has published numerous articles on subjects as diverse as skepticism, political theory, nuclear ethics, nuclear proliferation, and Israeli history. He is the coeditor of Nuclear Weapons and the Future of Humanity and The Institution of Philosophy.

Reviews

A scholarly treatise that includes over 1,200 footnotes, yet reads like a novel... [Cohen] analyzes in rich detail how this policy of 'nuclear opacity' evolved and what made it possible. -- Lawrence Kolb New York Times Book Review Israel and the Bomb should be required reading for those interested in nuclear issues in general and in the complexities of the American-Israeli relationship in particular. For American decision makers, the book should serve as an invaluable case-study of how not to deal with future instances of nuclear proliferation -- Michael Rubner Middle East Policy This important volume deserves the attention of Middle East scholars and students of foreign policy, nuclear proliferation, and Israeli politics. -- A.R. Norton Choice Cohen's work will necessitate the rewriting of Israel's history, wars, international relations, domestic political crises, economy, psychology, national pride--everything will have to be viewed in a different light. -- Tom Segev Ha'aretz For anyone interested in the never-ending struggles in the Middle East and life on the edge in the nuclear age, this book is a must-read. Miami Herald A compelling and comprehensive account of the development of what he calls Israel's doctrine of 'nuclear opacity.' -- Paul C. Warnke, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Cohen's book hits nations sensitivity. -- Dan Ephron Washington Times ... Avner Cohen's book stands in a class of its own. It is the first scholarly study of the history of this project, it is richly documented, and it unveils some of the major mysteries surrounding events by tapping a large body of previously untouched sources... It can only be assumed that when this national mood of 'nuclear' ignorance changes, Cohen's book will serve as a solid foundation for this debate. -- Uri Bar-Joseph Jewish History Cohen has produced another rich historical narrative that functions as a readily accessible page-turner. Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs