72 thoughts on “Story IDF Censor Couldn’t Stop on Top Secret Israeli Nuclear Base – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
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  1. Is getting more readers more important to you than Israel’s security?

    If Israel wants it to remain quiet then why for the sake of getting more readers do you need to make a point of promotings its exposure. It is a rather irresponsible approach to take if you truly care for Israel and for the safety of 7 million people who are faced by many enemies who wish only for their demise.

    1. I don’t do this for the sake of more readers. I do this for the sake of democracy, transparency and accountability. I don’t think the idea of Israel as a nuclearized national security state is something I can support. Israel’s nuclear facilities should be tretaed no differently than those of any other western nuclear state. People shouldn’t be imprisoned for decades for revealing information that is known everywhere including in Israel.

      And as another commenter noted: how does republishing information essentially already available at Global Security endanger Israel. No my friend, you’ve drunk the cup of hemlock offered to you by the IDF, intelligence & others who shrey that secrecy is the watchword of everything they do. That may be something you readily accept, not I’m not under the same obligation I’m afraid.

        1. Because they’re innocent. That’s why. The people who should be imprisoned are those who torture Israeli citizens & make up charges out of whole cloth and violate Israeli & international law.

          1. Baloney. The Shin Bet cannot prove Anat Kamm or Ameer Makhoul have broken the law. And even if they do so by the standards of a national security state which violates citizen’s rights in the name of security, that proves nothing. You yrself prove that Israel is not a democracy because you claim those accused of a crime are guilty even before trial. We sure know about yr political agenda.

          2. “Baloney”?
            1. So, there’s a “you” (me) and “we” here. Who’re the “we”? The Royal U?
            2. “Even if they do (prove) … that proves nothing” – I see. Israel is not democratic because even if it is, it isn’t.

          3. “You said curiosity killed the cat.”
            ?
            I did not say that, and I believe that whoever said that meant no harm to you personally.

            Anyhow, personally speaking now, I have not read any of your other articles. I have read your bio, and you look as an OK guy. I have no quarrel with you.

            However, I’d like to stress a few points:

            1. Israel is a country at war. Consequently I’m very much “on the side of” the military, the Shin-Beit and every other state agency protecting my life. We are not talking K.G.B. or (lehavdil) J. Edgar Hoover and C.I.A Bay of Pigs here.

            2. I very much trust the legal system here. They would not let the above mentioned agencies to run amok.

            3. MOMD, if Israel owns it, is my life insurance policy. I’d sleep very soundly on megatons of nukes, much better than I sleep with the tens of thousands of missiles owned by Hezbollah.

            4. Censorship rules are meant to prevent information leaks. It’s true that in the Google world, the enemy may obtain information from sources beyond its control. Even so, lips should be sealed.

          4. I’m sorry. I was confusing you with another commenter.

            By saying “Israel is a country at war,” you place the onus solely on one side and cleanse Israel of any culpability for that situation. Israel is a country at war in large part due to the very egregious emphasis on security at all costs & the obliviousness as to how its policies will sit with its neighbors.

            the Shin-Beit and every other state agency protecting my life.

            You’re living in a fantasy. The Shin Bet could care less about yr life (viz. the abuse they perpetrated on Israeli citizens by jeopardizing their security in cloning their passports). I suppose in a general sense the intelligence agencies believe they have Israel’s security at heart. But individual Israelis are entirely expendable to them as long as it furthers their ends.

            We are not talking K.G.B. or (lehavdil) J. Edgar Hoover and C.I.A Bay of Pigs here.

            There are elements of each of those institutions in the current Israeli security apparatus. It’s just that the Shin Bet & Mossad play on a slightly smaller canvas.

            I very much trust the legal system here. They would not let the above mentioned agencies to run amok

            You should be reading my other articles on precisely this subject. You might still be a true believer, but at least you’d have to grapple w. a few troubling issues you’re clearly not grappling w. now.

            I’d sleep very soundly on megatons of nukes, much better than I sleep with the tens of thousands of missiles owned by Hezbollah.

            If Israel ever uses a single one of its nukes you may be sleeping, but not soundly & not in this world.

            Censorship rules are meant to prevent information leaks.

            AND this blog is meant to encourage them.

          5. “By saying “Israel is a country at war,” you place the onus solely on one side and cleanse Israel of any culpability for that situation.”

            Not so. It’s a factual statement.

            “… (viz. the abuse they perpetrated on Israeli citizens by jeopardizing their security in cloning their passports). I suppose in a general sense the intelligence agencies believe they have Israel’s security at heart. But individual Israelis are entirely expendable to them as long as it furthers their ends.”

            AFAI care, they can clone my passport if they think they need it. The Hollocost taught me that personal security is secondary to the Israel’s one.

            “If Israel ever uses a single one of its nukes you may be sleeping, but not soundly & not in this world.”

            Correct.

            “Censorship rules are meant to prevent information leaks.”
            “AND this blog is meant to encourage them.”

            Now, here’s the real question. Why? Why encourage information leaks when they endanger the security of Israel? I could understand a qualified statement such as “encourage the exposure of behavior contradicting democracy” but your short, from-the-heap answer possibly does you injustice.

      1. may I add: Israel’s nuclear facilities should be tretaed no differently than those of any other western nuclear state which is in the same situation. Not many “western nuclear states” are. you ask what’s the danger in rebublishing (in israel) information that’s available online? well, some of the concieved threats are not nececerrily english fluent- like the would-be AK ring in nazareth that killed Yafim veinstein 7 months ago.
        http://www.iba.org.il/bet/?entity=655549&type=1

        And anyway, what’s the point in “exposing” IDF bases without even claiming any harmfull or unauthorized acts are being carried there? Janes Intelligence Report used those sat images couple of years ago to analyze Israel nuclear doctrine. Flashing it without real reason is just a nuisance.

        1. what’s the point in “exposing” IDF bases without even claiming any harmfull or unauthorized acts are being carried there?

          You don’t think a nuclear base that could wipe out half the Middle East & indirectly cause massive Israeli casualties is potentially harmful?

      2. you should go live in Israel, take your children, your wife, your parents, then let us know how safe we should feel without weapons to protect us from 22 arab countries that are hostile; btw, there are now 56 countries in the world with a muslim majority, good luck to you.

        1. My, isn’t yr comment original, being only the 30th time an Israeli has vainly attempted to render my views treif by saying. I can’t be credible till I’m in Israel. U wouldn’t be saying that now would u if I were praising all yr settler friends & Israel’s maximalist policies?

    2. Let’s see if Isi agrees with this statement.

      If Iran wants it to remain quiet then why for the sake of getting more readers do you need to make a point of promotings its exposure. It is a rather irresponsible approach to take if you truly care for Iran and for the safety of millions of people who are faced by many enemies who wish only for their demise.

    3. maybe israel should stop and think WHY it has so many enemies and try to build peace instead of building nuclear bombs.

  2. How would anything of what’s published here damage Israel’s security (especially given that the same information is already available elsewhere on the Net)?

  3. You are right that nothing here is new, but it’s just typical blabbermouth here. Why draw attention to it?

    1. If nothing is new, then why is my claim that Sdot Micha is a nuclear missle base being so savagely attacked at the Fresh forum? When someone like you cautions your fellow Israels not to draw attention to a story like this it is only because you feel that there is something real that should be hidden from view. Which only makes bloggers like me smell the story even more strongly.

      1. Hypocrisy at it’s best.
        Mr. Silverstein i am a reader of the Fresh Forum. as it seems that you have some difficulties with Hebrew comprehension let me translate one of the posts.
        ” In a matter of fact in this thread most people criticized you for being a hypocrite about the Anat Kaam story, that was the driving force behind the fire storm you experienced. To the base story very few people reacted. it’s easier on you to cling to the minority responses then dealing with the fact that most Fresh readers think you are not fair and you show very little integrity in the way you treat Israel, you have questionable resources, and for some reason you are adamant to show that every action taking by the Israeli state is evil and immoral at best. “

        1. as it seems that you have some difficulties with Hebrew comprehension

          Buddy, my Hebrew is far better than your English, I assure you. And cut out the snark. You can get away w. that at Fresh, but NOT HERE. Understand me well.

          I don’t believe “every” action taken by the Israeli state is “evil and immoral.” That of course is your twisted version of my views. I believe that most actions taken by the Israeli state regarding the Palestinians, esp. those which reinforce the Occupation are evil and immoral. And hundreds of thousands of your fellow Israelis agree with me. They just don’t happen to spend much time at Fresh’s military forum as you do.

          1. Mr. Silverstien.
            first i don’t think that i have any issues using the English language. My English comprehensions abilities served me well working on a PhD in one of the most prestigious universities in the USA, yet it is not perfect but unlike yourself i can write in more than one foreign language.
            I will put it in laymen’s terms, so even a simpleton like yourself, would be able to understand: You will be very surprised to know that like you i tend to think that the war situation between Israel and the Arab world cause the state of Israel to act immorally on occasion.
            However that is the nature of war. During WWII the allies acted immorally in many occasions, but sometime one has to act immorally to defeat a grater immorality.
            For example, when isolating it from the rest of the events of WWII, 70 years after the end of WWII the attack against the German city of Dresden seems to be an immoral act. As it was a part of a huge effort to defeat a grater immorality it is accepted by many as a necessary evil.
            Generalizing, so are Israel’s actions. If you know something about Jewish history (and I doubt you do) if you know anything about the history of that region, you would know that the state of war was forced upon Israel. The conflict, may I remind you, didn’t start in 1967, not even in 1948. Jews were always murdered in that part of world. This time around the Jews were able to form one of the best armies in the world, and it’s not as easy to gather Jews in concentration camps as it was 70 years ago.
            Besides Mr. Sivlerstien , how dare you criticize the immoral actions by the state of Israel, coming from someone who occupy a land taken from the Native Americans is a true immoral act. Why aren’t you promoting am agenda that will give the US territory back to the Native Americans from whom you really stole the land?

          2. even a simpleton like yourself, would be able to understand

            BIG comment rule violation. Read the rules. This isn’t Fresh. This is a place where commenters don’t get to level gratiutous insults as you’ve just done. First warning.

            You will be very surprised to know that like you i tend to think that the war situation between Israel and the Arab world cause the state of Israel to act immorally on occasion.
            However that is the nature of war. During WWII the allies acted immorally in many occasions, but sometime one has to act immorally to defeat a grater immorality.

            No, I wouldn’t be surprised at all that you flatter that you are among the vanguard of “humanist, liberal Israelis” who “shoot and cry” as they kill Palestinians, whether morally or immorally. You’re a dime a dozen really.

            it is accepted by many as a necessary evil.

            By the butcher, Gen. Curtis LeMay perhaps. But thankfully not by Kurt Vonnegut who sensitized the world to this horror in his book about this event.

            If you know something about Jewish history (and I doubt you do)

            Ugh, don’t tempt me you moron. I know as much or more about about Jewish history as you. So don’t even go there.

            the state of war was forced upon Israel.

            False, Ben Gurion was begged by the UN and western nations to delay declaration of statehood to allow time for negotiations. He stubbornly rejected the idea which resulted in the war. The war may’ve happened anyway, but we’ll never know because Ben Gurion never gave negotiations a chance.

            out of curiosity, where do you live Anyn ?

            That question makes me very uncomfortable given the tone & attitude of this commenter and I hope Anyn will not answer.

            how dare you criticize the immoral actions by the state of Israel, coming from someone who occupy a land taken from the Native Americans is a true immoral act.

            Hey, you’re only the 10th pro Israel apologist who’s tried that little gimmick. Do they offer you these arguments out of a hasbara manual or what? Now you’ve tried Argument #1, why don’t you see if Argument #2 goes any better for you?

    2. All this may be news elsewhere on the the Net, but not everyone has the time or inclination to seek it out. Richard does a good job of finding and putting it all in perspective for us. And he often gets the scoop that exposes otherwise hidden secrets. Don’t listen to the complainers, Richard, just continue to do what you’ve been so good at. Bravo!

        1. The Mossad is extremely occupied these days, so is other Israeli security agencies, i doubt that they will waste any resources on you Mr. Silverstien. do not Do not flatter yourself yourself.

        1. Like “self-hating Jew”, or “traitor”, being called “terrorist” by those right-wing nuts is something I’d be proud of.

    1. He wrote:

      Curiousity killed the cat.

      Is that supposed to be a threat or a joke or both? If so, it ain’t funny. And it certainly doesn’t intimidate.

      Should I beware of overweight middle aged men in sunglasses carrying tennis rackets???

      1. This lame response shows your true nature Mr. Silverstien. This is not a threat nor it’s a joke, it’s a saying about picking on subjects that are not helping and eventually will get people (not you, Israelis) hurt.
        The fact that you choose to consider this a threat shows that all you want to do is idolize yourself.
        Let me tell you this – unfortunately the Mossad has better things to do than chase you, these guys work day and night so Israelis and others could keep on writing blogs, drink wine and play tennis so show some respect.

        1. Perhaps you don’t understand English (or even the Hebrew version). So let me give you a quick tutorial: in the original saying the curious cat (that would be ME in yr analogy) gets killed by his curiousity. Or did you somehow miss that? So yes, I interpret that as a threat. If you didn’t intend that then either you’re dense or don’t understand the meaning of the saying you chose to employ.

          I show no respect to an intelligence culture & society run amok, trampling over the rights of its own citizens.

      2. Yeah, Richard, and I wonder what hypocrisy kills. You know, as freely exemplified in israel’s insistence on an Iran free from what Israel possesses.

        1. Israel’s case for nuclear arms possession is a bit more valid than Iran’s. Israel has not violated the NPT (which it hasn’t signed), it does not parade long-range missiles with banners reading “X#$%G should be wiped off the face of the earth” despite being under graver danger, it is a functioning democracy that actually cares about its citizens etc. for crying out loud, the life expectancy in iran is lower than in the palestinian authority (ranks 109 and 77 by the UN).

          1. (1) For about 25 years (1953 – early 1979), the United States inflicted a torturing police state on Iran. Iran has the right to stave off a repeat of this situation by any means necessary.

            (2) In September 1980, Saddam Hussein, egged on by the West, launched a war against Iran that dragged on for eight years and killed hundreds of thousands of people. Iran has the right to stave off a repeat of this situation by any means necessary.

            Never again! Iran’s case for nuclear arms possession is as strong as that for any other country in the world.

          2. Well this constantly repeated “excuse” that Israel is justified to have nukes because it doesn’t threaten anybody (and has not signed NTP) and feels threatened by everybody is amusing. It is obvious that Israel has for decades signalled that they will use nukes and other WMDs without hesitance if it feels the situation demanding that. Israel has built a nuclear deterrence and a delivery capacity that can’t in anyway described as defensive, it is simply expansive and aimed to get aerial dominance.

            The reality is that Israel is a small country like Denmark, Finland or Slovakia are. The reality is that Israel’s political power is in many ways on the level other nuclear states like Pakistan or India have, anyway much, much more than other 5 million population countries have. And that extra power is achieved simply by keeping up a dangerous conflict and expanding in secret the already insane big nuclear arsenal.

            Describing Israel as a responsible nuclear power is rather amusing. Should the world be more afraid of the Iranian hypothetical future nukes or of the Israeli existing nukes? The Israeli nukes are already in the hands of ideological and/or religious extremists.

            These news how USA is assisting Israel’s nuclear dominance efforts by demanding Jordan to give Israel access to their large uranium sources is mildly said absurd remembering that Israel has no civil nuclear power production capacity nor has it signed the NTP.
            http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3918876,00.html

          3. …it does not parade long-range missiles with banners reading “X#$%G should be wiped off the face of the earth”

            I’ve yet to see anyone parade a banner going quite so far as to say that. However, Israel wiped Palestine completely off their maps long ago, and continues to lie, cheat, steal, and kill in their insane quest to make reality fit those maps.

          4. Maor, so you are not aware of the new book coming out about Israel and Apartheid South Africa?

            According to the author Dr. Sacha Polakow Surasky, in the 1970’s Israel offered to sell these racist dictators some nukes.

            So much for responsible behavior.

          5. It has not signed NPT because it does not want to be bound by its provisions, so claiming it has not violated it is utterly ridiculous. Israel doesn’t have to parade missiles. It has generals & defense ministry officials regularly threaten Iran with mass destruction. As for Israel being a democracy, let alone a “functioning” one–well that’s highly debatable.

            I don’t trust the IDF any more than I trust the Revolutionary Guards to manage WMD.

      3. Richard, just keep your passport with you at all times….beware handing it to anyone who looks like an Israeli – official or otherwise (certain “good” israelis excepted, of course – but why would they want your passport?) for longer than 5 minutes (that’s is all it takes for a good clone blueprint with modern, upscale technology). I’d hate to read a few year hence that one named “Richard Silverstein”, a US citizen, was found to be involved in some clandestine overdone “operation” ssomewhere in Baluchistan.

  4. Personally, I find the fact that nuclear heads are stored 45 min. drive from my house much more threatening than what the security spooks come up with.

    There’s a whole lot of population here in Israel being threatened by these missiles. The base is not at the absolute center but it’s in a comfortable middle between Israel’s largest cities – Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

    1. Not to make too much of a joke out of this serious matter, but it may soothe some Israelis to know that German-manufactured submarines likely carry Israeli nuclear warheads, so putting at least these missiles outside of Israeli territory.

    2. Anyn.
      You’ve put your finger on why the UK dropped the silo-launched Blue Streak missile programme in favour of air and submarine-launched weapons.

      The pads and silos still exist, though: a few years ago Richard Hammond used one to build a life-sized replica of the House of Lords as it was in Guy Fawkes’ day, so he could see how much damage the original 18 barrels of black powder would have done. Very tellingly, the MoD would only let him detonate this, one millionth of the yield of a Blue Streak warhead, under certain weather conditions, in case low cloud reflected the blast onto “nearby” towns, such as Workington.

      I live 50 miles from the Buncefield fuel terminal, where there was an accidental explosion of roughly 0.25 kilotonne yield. (50 tonnes of fuel mixed with air.) I didn’t just hear the bang, I FELT it and cupboards and bookcases all rattled and shook.

      People heard it in Newcastle Under Lyme and Keele.
      The whole of England was covered by low cloud at the time.

      Buncefield to Keele is roughly the length of Israel, at a guess.

      On a clear day, you might survive even a big explosion at that base. But with cloud cover at the wrong height, a modest nuclear explosion could flatten the whole country. Even a rocket fuel explosion could shake the whole of Israel.

      Israel is too small for nuclear warfare.
      In my mind, is the image of Mr Hammond on the film, approaching the scene of his 0.000001 MT explosion, sobered and chastened by the absolute wreckage of the structure he had built, with walls seven and nine feet thick, tossed aside like children’s alphabet bricks.

  5. “I do this for the sake of democracy, transparency and accountability. I don’t think the idea of Israel as a nuclearized national security state is something I can support. Israel’s nuclear facilities should be tretaed no differently than those of any other western nuclear state.”

    There is a time and place for everything. Right now, Israel is not being treated as any other western democracy in any other respect. Nuclear ambiguity remains important for many reasons and your bringing things to the front-burner at this particular moment in history may be decidedly unhelpful and possibly dangerous to this country’s foreign policy. There is a difference, too, between “not supporting” something and aggressively attacking it at what might prove to be a particularly inopportune time. One might object that ‘Truth is not seasonal’ – and if we lived in a theoretical world where all other things were equal, the objection might have merit. However, given current realities, that objection may also be facile dodge unworthy of the complexities Israel faces with the NPT now a front-and-center issue.

    1. Elihu, if Israel is not being treated as a Western democracy, it might be because it isn’t one. Neither Western, nor a democracy.

      I recommend to you the op.ed piece by Anthony DiMaggio, “Threatening World Order: the United States and Israel Quietly Announce Plans to Reconstitute Their Nuclear Arsenals.” http://www.truthout.org (JUly 10). I have already sent a copy of it to Richard who might like to comment on it.

      1. You are right, Israel isn’t a democracy.
        i guess you would consider the Saudi kingdom as one right ?
        Saudi kingdom you know, the place were man are treated as man and women are treated as kettle.

        1. If is a truncated democracy. S.A. is a monarchy. I do understand the difference.

          Bad enough for women in S.A. to be treated like “cattle” without them also being treated “as kettle.” You might want to take back your claim that you have “no issues using the English language.” I’ll make a deal. If you stop lying about my lack of command of Hebrew, I’ll stop telling the truth about yr faulty command of English. Deal?

    2. your bringing things to the front-burner at this particular moment in history may be decidedly unhelpful and possibly dangerous to this country’s foreign policy.

      No, actually your own nations’ foreign policy is what is decidedly unhelpful and not just possibly–but definitely dangerous to Israel. My actions cannot harm Israel. In fact, I am doing what more Israeli journalists, bloggers & MKs should be doing. Speaking truth to power. Breaking the chains of evil as Isaiah says.

      There is no such thing as an “opportune time” when it comes to maintaining or revealing nuclear secrets. That’s pure hasbara.

      As for the “complexities” Israel faces regarding NPT–it’s not complex at all. Israel should join NPT. As long as it refuses it will be ostracized & will have only itself to blame.

  6. Gene,

    Richard justified his expose in part by saying that: “Israel’s nuclear facilities should be tretaed no differently than those of any _other_ western nuclear state.” (emphasis mine.) I addressed him on that basis. If you truly believe that Israel is neither Western, nor a democracy, take it up with Richard.

    I looked at the link you provided for Anthony’s article, but could find the article you referenced. I will be please to read it, if you can help me locate it.

    Meni – Thank you for the Ynet article about the fires, but I do not see the extraordinary security measures to which you refer. Question: Do you have any evidence that the Israelis have less than a 100% safety record for this base regarding harm to its neighbors? BTW, if one does feel compelled to inform the neighbors of any perceived “the danger they are in”, that can can easily be done without calling the attention of the blogosphere to the situation. When someone does so much work to make a ‘splash’, that suggests a broader agenda. Indeed, Richard was honest about this. I believe people have a right to know about what they are sitting on – but I believe there are balances to be maintained, as well. I submit that the question to be asked at any moment is which course of action is necessary and/or likely preserve more lives or to place more lives at risk.

    1. Elihu, click on the link again and when it opens click on the link to OPINION. When that opens, scroll down to about the 20th item and you will find the article by Anthony DiMaggio.

      I just found it there. Bur it moves in time as they add more items.

    2. “Question: Do you have any evidence that the Israelis have less than a 100% safety record for this base regarding harm to its neighbors?”

      Even if we ignore that the burden of proof is on the perpetrator rather than the potential victim and we ignore the fact that import or private possession of Geiger counters is illegal as it was in the former soviet union. the result: when Chernobyl blew, the poor people adjacent to the plant had no idea anything went wrong for a couple of days.

      Let’s get back to facts:

      1. A small area outside of Dimona was irradiated by an accidental spillover of radioactive water. The area wasn’t not marked or closed off which resulted in civilian exposure.

      2. Some of Dimona’s employees underwent unethical medical experiments involving having to swallow uranium. The unethical part was that they were pressured to participate. They settled for compensation out of court.

      These are only two glimpses into an otherwise well guarded secret. If this is what is publicly known, who knows what else is going on?

      1. Hi Yakov,

        I was referring specifically to Meni’s comment re the Sdot Mikha base and recent events, not old news about Dimona. BTW, can you cite any rule of evidence in any jurisdiction that supports your declared theory on burdens of proof?

        My main point was that the argument of forcing Israel’s hand at this moment on the basis of a “who knows what’s out there, now?” argument, might not justify the disastrous consequences of the nuclear arms race that will follow dissolution of Israel’s nuclear ambiguity in conjunction with Iran’s current recklessness in defying the IAEA and the the UN Security Council.

        1. the disastrous consequences of the nuclear arms race that will follow dissolution of Israel’s nuclear ambiguity

          There is NO ambiguity about Israel’s nuclear arms capability. Every Arab & Muslim state knows generally what Israel has & what it is capable of if it feels existentially threatened. And if you think there is no nuclear arms race going on right now you’ve got to be kidding. Why do you think Syrian had a nuclear reactor & why did the IAF bomb it if there’s no such race going on? And if you think other Arab/Muslim states besides Iran & Syria will not try to get nuclear weapons you’re also kidding yrself. Turkey may be next. And of course Pakistan already has them & it conceivably could fall to a Taliban like regime which would have no compunctions threatening Israel.

    3. “Question: Do you have any evidence that the Israelis have less than a 100% safety record for this base regarding harm to its neighbors?”

      Quote:

      Our team arrived at ‘Egozi’ air force base, located in the area surrounded by Revadim, Kfar Menachem, and Zacharya. The base does not appear on any map, and the gate has no welcoming sign with the name of the base. The main entrance is located at the end of a short access road that also leads to a nature preserve, where tourists might stop for a picnic.

      One member of the team used a Geiger counter to check radiation levels. While the readings varied (1700 – 7,000), it was obvious that they were more than 100 times the levels recorded in Jerusalem.

      Source: “Israeli Citizen’s Verification Team Visits Nuclear Missile Base” ~1998

      http://www.iacenter.org/Palestine/israeli.htm

  7. GlobalSecurity.org has had that stuff on-line for several years, but a lot of the information on the site is based on pure speculation.
    I can’t really see why they censored this article. if anything, the censorship shows that some of it’s content be true, instead of letting rumors stay rumors.

  8. I fail to understand those people who berate Richard for talking about Israel’s nuclear capabilities. One of the implicit arguments seems to be here that this is an Israeli domestic matter and not for outsiders to talk about.

    What a nonsense.

    It is and should be a matter of American and even global concern. Apart from the fact that American policy towards Israel has been hamstrung by nuclear blackmail (cp. the successful attempt to force the hand of American policy makers during the Yom Kippur War) its wider non-proliferation policy also remains open to the charge of hypocrisy as long as it tacitly acquiesces in the existence of an Israeli nuclear arsenal.

    Cp. the following passage in Seymour Hersh’s ‘The Samson Option’: “George H.Rathjens, a deputy early in the Carter administration to Gerard C.Smith, the President’s specially appointed ambassador-at-large for non prolliferation issues, vividly recalled Zia’s response when Smith raised questions about Pakistan’s nuclear program: ” ‘Why don’t you people talk to Israel?’ Smith was upset,” Rathjens added, “but there was no way to answer Zia – no satisfactory answer.” The Israeli nuclear program “wasn’t anything people (in the U.S.government) wanted to talk about or discuss,” Rathjens said. “It was an embarrassment.” (p.263)

  9. Richard,

    Thanks again for the public service you provide here against the pact of “security” secrets and lies.

    It is ironic that some Israelis lash out against you. These revelations are a service to Israeli citizens most of all.

    Our country is being turned by the “security” spooks, into (among other things) a packed arsenal of horrific WMDs. As others here pointed out, Israel is too small for nuclear war anyway, and this base is within an hour’s drive from over half of Israel’s citizens.

    Is anyone asking us for permission? No. Do they think we should know about this at all, and start thinking about this critically? This is their worst fear.

    One might ask, what is *their* motive in all this madness? I don’t see a conspiracy here. It’s stupidity, narrow-mindedness and a childish obsession with secrecy and spy games like some B-rated action movie.

    As Justice Brandeis said, sunlight is the best disinfectant to take care of these illnesses.

    1. By the way a funny anecdote:

      When I was 16 I wanted to go with friends on a backpacking hike from the Beit Shemesh region to the sea. I went for a consultation in an orienteering club. I had bought the 1:50,000 topo maps which I thought were reliable, and they showed a huge, interesting open space of hill country stretching north of Zacharia and S’dot Micha.

      I asked the guy at the club whether this is an interesting route, and he said no (without any detailed). He suggested a more southerly route. We ended up setting out from Ajur, some 5 km to the south. There was still a surprising amount of military helicopters flying about during the middle of the night in that godforsaken part of the country.

      Of course the Israeli topo map I bought had no clue of the huge S’dot HaElla base, which are now so clearly visible on Google Maps (thanks Shunra for the link!). Only hills and shrubs.

      Only many years later I connected the dots.

  10. I’d like to see a world without nukes, but if I had to choose between giving them to Israel or Iran. I certainly don’t think anybody should feel safe so long as Israel is allowed to continue playing its dangerous don’t ask don’t tell game.

  11. Sorry, I lost a phrase there… I meant to say if I had to choose between giving them to Israel or Iran, I’d give them to Iran.

    1. Why should we have to choose? I’m not comfortable w. either one having them. Given the Islamic Republic’s history of oppression since last June, I certainly don’t feel comfortable giving WMD to Ayatollah Khamenei.

  12. This article is just a reminder for Iran that while Iranian scientists are still trying to assemble nukes, Israel is already aiming theirs towards Iran. This could be a well calculated “expose”. Most comments/reactions are deceiving, the real issue are the nukes stored and ready for action in a moments notice.

  13. Israel’s nuclear ambiguity had deterred the Arabs from waging another major war against Israel since the Yom Kippur war. And some people think that Israel is a danger to the world at large with it’s nukes, what they did not consider are the Arab/Iranian threat to “wipe Israel off the world map”. It was the arabs/Iranians who openly threaten the world with their rhetoric of destroying non-believers (infidels) – that’s us christians and other non-muslims. For those infidels who sympathize with Arabs/Iran, don’t ever expect that you will be safe from Islamic terror, they even kill their own if not killing their enemies.

    1. You’re passing along another fabrication created originally by the NY Times reporter in Teheran & now passed off as truth by every pro Israel commentator around.

      Stop spouting racist nonsense. You’ll be moderated if you choose to return. You’ve violated the comment rules.

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