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00:00to smuggle weapons from the United States,
00:02surplus weapons from the war to Israel
00:04to help them overcome the Arabs.
00:07And this is the story.
00:08I'll read this.
00:09This is from a Jewish publication.
00:14This is from a Jewish publication,
00:16which is called Tablet, actually.
00:18So nobody can accuse me of being a conspiracy theorist
00:22or something like that.
00:26Let me pull this up in my notes.
00:34Give me just one moment.
00:39So this is from Tablet magazine.
00:42We've actually covered Tablet on the show many times before
00:45in other conversations about Israel,
00:47so it's somewhat relevant.
00:49This is from Tablet magazine.
00:50It describes some of the arms trafficking efforts.
00:54It says, quote,
00:55In 1945, the Jewish agency,
00:57the pre-state Israeli government,
01:00headed by David Ben-Gurion,
01:02created a vast clandestine arms purchasing
01:05and smuggling network throughout the United States.
01:08The operation was placed under the aegis of the Haganah,
01:11which is the forerunner to the IDF,
01:13the Israeli Defense Force.
01:15And it involved hundreds of Americans
01:17from every walk of life,
01:18including Jewish organized crime.
01:21In particular, one mobster named Mickey Cohen.
01:24In his autobiography,
01:26West Coast mobster Mickey Cohen claimed that after meeting Haganah
01:30and Ergun emissaries,
01:32those are Jewish militant groups in Palestine,
01:34he became so absorbed with Israel
01:36that he pushed aside much of his own activities
01:39and did nothing but try to help Israel in its war.
01:42He said,
01:44I got involved with this G.D. Israel war for three years.
01:48In his memoirs,
01:49he claims that he held fundraising affairs
01:51to raise money for Israel to procure weapons.
01:54In 1947,
01:55he organized a fundraiser for the Ergun,
01:58leading Jewish underworld figures
02:00from California and Las Vegas attended.
02:02And according to Cohen and other attendees,
02:04thousands of dollars were collected.
02:06The money Cohen claimed was used to buy weapons
02:09and have them shipped to Israel.
02:11Mickey Cohen was the successor to Bugsy Siegel.
02:15Bugsy Siegel was Meyer Lansky's right-hand man.
02:20So the National Crime Syndicate,
02:22the multi-ethnic national organized crime group,
02:26was founded by Jewish mobster Meyer Lansky
02:29and Italian mobster Lucky Luciano.
02:32They worked with the CIA.
02:34They helped the CIA and the allies take over Italy,
02:41which was then under the control of Angleton.
02:44Angleton facilitated the Jews leaving Italy,
02:47going to Palestine to form Israel.
02:49He used them as a source
02:51and in the meantime,
02:52turned a blind eye to Meyer Lansky's criminal activities,
02:55as well as the gun running from Italy to Palestine.
03:01And Meyer Lansky,
03:03as well as his subordinates like Mickey Cohen,
03:06they were smuggling weapons from the United States to Israel
03:09for its war of independence in 1948.
03:14This is how they're all connected.
03:17So you notice how there's all this talk
03:19about the mafia organized crime.
03:22There's all this talk about the CIA.
03:24They act like the mafia is Italian and the CIA is right wing
03:28and it's right wing wasps,
03:30or that they're separate.
03:31In reality, the mafia and the CIA are two sides of the same coin.
03:35And what transcends both
03:39is a Jewish influence.
03:42The CIA is influenced by Jews
03:45because the transnational Jews
03:49are the source of the CIA's vast intelligence network.
03:55Jews leaving Italy and going to Palestine
03:57are tapped by Angleton.
04:00And in organized crime,
04:02it is the Jewish mafia,
04:03which is helping the Italian mafia
04:06launder its money in Switzerland.
04:10And the Jewish mafia is running casinos
04:12and doing other activities for them as well.
04:16And so you have the mafia,
04:19intel agencies working together,
04:21but the dimension that is never talked about
04:23is how a vast Jewish network connects them both.
04:28So this is going on throughout the 1940s.
04:31Let's talk about Israel in particular.
04:34So after the 1948 war,
04:37Israel is victorious.
04:38Israel defeats the combined Arab armies.
04:41They are humiliated.
04:43They are defeated.
04:44And for the time being,
04:46Israel is safe.
04:47That is until the mid-1950s,
04:50there is the emergence
04:51of an Egyptian dictator
04:54named Nasser.
04:57Nasser has a pan-Arabist ideology.
05:00He wants to unite
05:01all Arab countries
05:03on the basis of them being Arab.
05:05Not necessarily a theocratic Muslim religious leader.
05:10He is a nationalist leader
05:12and he wants to unite the Middle East
05:15on the basis of their Arab ethnicity.
05:17He's a pan-Arabist.
05:19So when Egypt gains its independence,
05:22shortly afterward,
05:23Nasser becomes the president.
05:25Nasser takes over the Suez Canal.
05:28He nationalizes it.
05:29It is owned by Britain and France.
05:33Nasser takes over the Suez Canal
05:36so that Egypt can make money from it.
05:38And this is his nationalist,
05:41third-worldist,
05:42anti-colonial ideology.
05:44He believes that the revenues
05:45from the Suez Canal
05:46should serve Egypt.
05:49Israel,
05:50the United Kingdom,
05:51and France
05:52cook up a plan
05:53where Israel is going to invade Egypt.
05:57And once Israel goes to war with Egypt,
06:00once they invade the Sinai Peninsula,
06:02this will create a pretext
06:03for France and Britain to intervene.
06:06They will say they're coming in as peacekeepers.
06:09In reality,
06:11what they're doing
06:11is taking back control over the canal.
06:14And that's exactly what happens in 1956.
06:18Israel invades the Sinai
06:20and they have their own reasons.
06:22There's multiple reasons for doing this.
06:24They invade because
06:25they're threatened by Nasser.
06:27They're threatened by Egypt.
06:28They fear that Nasser wants to attack them.
06:32And Nasser has also blockaded
06:34one of their ports.
06:35So Israel invades the Sinai
06:37in collaboration with Britain and France.
06:40Britain and France come in as peacekeepers
06:42and they take control of the canal.
06:45This is under the administration of Eisenhower.
06:48This is in 1956.
06:50At this time,
06:51the United States does not have
06:52an absolutely pro-Israel foreign policy.
06:55The United States,
06:57under Truman,
06:58from 48 to 52,
07:01from the creation of the state of Israel
07:02until he leaves office in 52,
07:04and then throughout the reign of Eisenhower,
07:06the United States
07:07is trying to cut down the middle
07:10between Israel and the Arabs.
07:11They want to maintain good relations with both.
07:14And in this time,
07:15the United States is not giving military aid to Israel.
07:18At least,
07:19it's very minimal.
07:20And for a short time,
07:21there's an arms embargo on both.
07:24And so when Israel invades Sinai,
07:28when they attack Egypt in 1956,
07:31in collaboration with Britain and France,
07:33Eisenhower intervenes
07:34and gets them all to withdraw.
07:36Eisenhower says,
07:37you're crazy.
07:38You're going to bring the Soviet Union
07:39into the Middle East?
07:40If Egypt thinks
07:42that Israel and the West
07:44are teaming up on them,
07:45then Nasser is going to side
07:47with the Soviet Union.
07:48And that's going to bring
07:49the Soviet sphere of influence
07:50into the Middle East
07:51to a much greater extent.
07:52So he forces them all to withdraw.
07:55What is never discussed
07:57about this war
07:58is that there was another aspect
08:00to the deal.
08:03In 1956,
08:05Israel approaches the French.
08:08and Israel is not only smuggling
08:11guns from the United States
08:13and from Europe into Israel.
08:14The big weapon that they want
08:16is a nuclear bomb.
08:18After Israel declares its independence
08:20and after they see
08:21the nuclear bomb in Japan,
08:23they see the Soviet Union
08:24test a nuclear device in 1949.
08:27The Israelis become obsessed
08:29with acquiring a nuclear weapon.
08:32David Ben-Gurion
08:33is the founding father of Israel.
08:35He's the first prime minister.
08:37He's considered the soul.
08:38He's like their George Washington.
08:40David Ben-Gurion
08:41is obsessed
08:42with acquiring a nuclear bomb.
08:45In 1956,
08:46the Israelis go to France
08:48and say,
08:49we will attack Egypt
08:51if you give us
08:53a nuclear reactor.
08:55And the French agree.
08:57In 1958,
08:59the French go to Israel
09:00after the war is over
09:02and Israel holds up
09:03its end of the bargain.
09:04and France begins
09:06to build a nuclear reactor
09:09inside Israel's desert
09:11in the Negev in the south.
09:13This is the beginning
09:14of Israel's nuclear program.
09:16And this is based on Israel's
09:18honestly credible fear
09:20about their Arab neighbors.
09:23Their entire region
09:25declares war on them in 1948.
09:28Their neighbor, Egypt,
09:29which at that time
09:30is a regional power,
09:33is looking to organize
09:34the entire region
09:35on the basis of Arab ethnicity
09:37to go to war against Israel.
09:39They form a united republic
09:41with Syria in the 50s.
09:44Israel understands
09:45that the ultimate deterrent,
09:47the ultimate weapon,
09:48which will give them
09:49an advantage
09:50over every country
09:51put together in the region,
09:52is the nuclear bomb.
09:54And they say that
09:55since Jews invented
09:56the nuclear bomb,
09:58if Einstein,
09:59Oppenheimer, and Teller
10:00invented the nuclear device
10:02for the United States,
10:03they say the Jews in Israel
10:05can invent the nuclear bomb.
10:07And so the Jews
10:08do some work on
10:10uranium extraction
10:11and some other things.
10:13They do some technology
10:14sharing with France.
10:15And ultimately,
10:16they come to this deal
10:17where they will invade Egypt
10:20so that France
10:21and the United Kingdom
10:22can take back the Suez.
10:24And in exchange,
10:25part of the deal
10:26is that France
10:27is going to build for them
10:28a nuclear reactor.
10:30They're going to supply them
10:31with uranium,
10:32which will allow Israel
10:34to refine plutonium
10:36and build a weapon.
10:38They need plutonium
10:40for a nuclear bomb,
10:42which will give them an edge.
10:45This is what is important
10:47about this relationship.
10:50And this sets the stage
10:51for John F. Kennedy's presidency.
10:54Let's talk about
10:54John F. Kennedy himself
10:56for a moment
10:56because there's some
10:57interesting things in his past
10:58that actually already
11:00soured the relationship
11:01with Israel and the Jews,
11:03among others.
11:04What a lot of people
11:05don't know about Jack Kennedy
11:06is that him,
11:08his brother,
11:09who died in World War II,
11:10and his father
11:11were all Nazi sympathizers.
11:15Joseph Kennedy,
11:16his father,
11:17is very rich
11:18and was deeply involved
11:20in the underworld
11:21during Prohibition.
11:22He was involved
11:22in bootlegging.
11:23He had a longstanding feud
11:25with Meyer Lansky himself
11:26and relations with the mob.
11:28Ronin's with the mob
11:29was almost killed
11:30by the Detroit Jewish mafia
11:32at one point.
11:33Joseph Kennedy
11:34was an admirer
11:35of Adolf Hitler.
11:36Joseph Kennedy,
11:38during World War II,
11:39was an ambassador
11:40to Great Britain.
11:41and before the United States
11:44entered the war,
11:45Joseph Kennedy
11:46was outspoken
11:47opposing U.S. entry
11:49into the war.
11:50When war was declared,
11:52he returned to the United States
11:53and went on a campaign
11:54against President Roosevelt,
11:56which was a big deal
11:58because this is
11:59a high-level ambassador.
12:00He's a well-respected Democrat,
12:02very established.
12:04Joseph Kennedy
12:05is going to embark
12:06on a campaign
12:07against American involvement
12:10in World War II.
12:11Joseph Kennedy
12:12has a lot of views
12:13that are similar to
12:14like what Daryl Cooper
12:15says on Joe Rogan.
12:17You know,
12:18now it's become
12:19somewhat in vogue.
12:20It's in vogue lately.
12:22People say that
12:23Churchill
12:24is the true villain
12:25of World War II.
12:26He brought us into the war.
12:27This is what Joseph Kennedy
12:28was saying
12:29in the 40s.
12:30This is JFK's father
12:32said that Winston Churchill
12:33dragged the United States
12:35into the war.
12:35He said the United Kingdom
12:36is finished.
12:37We ought to stay out of it.
12:38and he sympathized
12:40with Hitler.
12:41At Harvard,
12:43JFK's brother,
12:44Joe Kennedy,
12:45was part of a
12:46student-based organization
12:48opposing U.S. intervention
12:50in the war.
12:53JFK himself
12:55wrote in his diary
12:56that he wished
12:57his father took it further
12:59in his opposition
13:00to the war.
13:02JFK said we should
13:03and never went involved.
13:04He actually wrote speeches
13:06for his father
13:07and JFK
13:09was so against
13:10World War II
13:11he himself
13:12was surveilled
13:14by the FBI.
13:15Jack Kennedy,
13:16JFK,
13:17the future president,
13:18was surveilled
13:18by the FBI
13:20for his anti-war views
13:23and in particular
13:24because he supported
13:25his father's
13:26anti-war views.
13:29And everybody
13:30at this point
13:30knows JFK
13:32himself
13:33wrote positive things
13:34about Hitler.
13:35He visited
13:36fascist Italy,
13:37Nazi Germany,
13:39he visited Europe
13:40before the war
13:41and he said
13:42I think that
13:43communism is for
13:44the Russians,
13:44fascism is for
13:45the Italians and Germans
13:47and democracies
13:47for us
13:48and the British.
13:50And years later
13:51he wrote about
13:52how he had
13:52a great admiration
13:53for Hitler.
13:55So already
13:56the Jews
13:57did not like
13:58the Kennedys
13:59because of
14:00Joseph Kennedy,
14:02because of
14:02who JFK's
14:03father was.
14:04The Jews
14:05knew
14:05who Joseph
14:07Kennedy was
14:07and they
14:08didn't like him
14:08because they
14:09considered that
14:10the Kennedys
14:10were Catholics
14:12and at that
14:13time Catholicism,
14:14Catholics were
14:14associated with
14:15anti-communist,
14:16McCarthyists,
14:17anti-Semitism
14:19and they thought
14:20that they were
14:21those Kennedys
14:21who opposed
14:22World War II
14:23who didn't save
14:24the Jews
14:25in the Holocaust.
14:26Never mind
14:26that JFK
14:27was injured
14:28in the war,
14:28his brother
14:29died in the war
14:31but they
14:31already didn't
14:32like him.
14:33As a senator,
14:35JFK,
14:35before he was
14:36president,
14:37he was a
14:37senator from
14:37Massachusetts.
14:39His first
14:40speech as a
14:41member of the
14:42House Foreign
14:43Committee
14:44in 1957,
14:46he spoke
14:46in favor
14:47of Algerian
14:48independence
14:49from France.
14:50This is
14:50something else
14:51the Israelis
14:52deeply opposed.
14:54In the
14:551950s,
14:56France was
14:56in their own
14:57Vietnam,
14:58I mean,
14:59Algeria was
15:00like their
15:01equivalent
15:01of the
15:01Vietnam War.
15:03France fought
15:03a brutal
15:04war in
15:05their colony
15:05Algeria to
15:06maintain control
15:07over it
15:08and there
15:09was this
15:09question
15:10whether France
15:11should keep
15:12control over
15:12it or whether
15:13they turned
15:13it over to
15:14an Islamic
15:15government
15:16and JFK
15:17weighed in
15:18as a senator
15:19and gave a
15:19big prominent
15:20speech in
15:21favor of
15:22independence
15:22effectively.
15:23The Jews
15:24didn't like
15:24him for that
15:25either.
15:26So already
15:27the stage
15:28is set
15:28that there's
15:28this
15:29conflict.
15:32So in
15:32the 1960s,
15:34JFK is
15:34elected.
15:35He's elected
15:35in 1960
15:36and even
15:37though there's
15:38this tension
15:39between his
15:39family and
15:40the Jewish
15:40community,
15:41JFK actually
15:42gets some
15:42support from
15:43the Jews.
15:44There's a
15:45very prominent
15:46manufacturing
15:48mogul
15:49named Abe
15:49Feinberg
15:50who meets
15:51with JFK
15:52in his New
15:52York apartment
15:54in 1960
15:55and Feinberg
15:57says very
15:57bluntly to
15:58Jack Kennedy,
15:59he goes,
15:59look,
16:00we know
16:00your campaign
16:00needs money.
16:01We're going
16:02to give you
16:02$500,000
16:03in exchange.
16:04We want
16:05to write
16:05your Israel
16:06policy.
16:08And JFK
16:09took the
16:10money from
16:10the Israel
16:11lobby.
16:11Even back
16:12then this
16:12stuff was
16:12going on.
16:13You know,
16:13we talk
16:13about
16:13AIPAC
16:14and
16:14Miriam
16:15Adelson
16:15now.
16:16This has
16:16been going
16:16on forever.
16:18So JFK
16:19meets with
16:19Abe Feinberg
16:20who's a
16:21big member
16:21of the
16:22Jewish
16:22lobby
16:22himself,
16:23the Israel
16:23lobby.
16:24They give
16:25him $500,000.
16:26They say,
16:27we want to
16:27write your
16:27Middle East
16:28policy.
16:28Those are
16:30our conditions.
16:32JFK's
16:33furious.
16:34The next
16:34day he
16:34tells his
16:35best friend,
16:35I can't
16:36believe that
16:38they would
16:39say to an
16:39American running
16:40for president
16:41that we want
16:42to write your
16:42policy.
16:43I can't
16:43believe it
16:43works this
16:44way.
16:45In
16:46addition,
16:47JFK gets
16:47help from
16:48the Jewish
16:49aligned
16:49mafia.
16:50They say
16:51that Joseph
16:51Kennedy and
16:52Jack Kennedy
16:53have a
16:53meeting with
16:53Sam Giancana
16:54from the
16:55Chicago
16:55outfit.
16:57And they
16:58say that
16:58JFK will
16:59be your
17:00man in
17:00the White
17:00House.
17:01In
17:01exchange,
17:02the mafia
17:03pours money
17:04into JFK's
17:05campaign in
17:06the primary
17:06in states
17:06like West
17:07Virginia,
17:08and they
17:08put their
17:09finger on
17:09the scale
17:10in the
17:10general
17:10election
17:10in Illinois
17:11to help
17:11them carry
17:12the state.
17:13This is
17:14how JFK
17:15gets into
17:15office.
17:17Now,
17:18the first
17:18thing that
17:19happens when
17:19JFK gets
17:20in before
17:21he even
17:21gets in
17:22is that
17:23the CIA
17:24makes the
17:25Eisenhower
17:26administration
17:26aware of
17:27Israel's
17:28nuclear
17:28program.
17:30They tell
17:31Eisenhower
17:31that Israel
17:32in collaboration
17:33with the
17:34French is
17:34building a
17:35nuclear reactor
17:36in the
17:36desert,
17:36although
17:36they're not
17:37sure if
17:37it's for
17:37weapons
17:38purposes
17:38just yet.
17:39This is
17:41in the
17:42fall of
17:431960,
17:44around the
17:44time of
17:44the
17:44election.
17:46January
17:4619th,
17:47the day
17:48before
17:48JFK is
17:49inaugurated,
17:51he asks
17:52the outgoing
17:53Secretary of
17:54State,
17:55who is
17:55pursuing a
17:56nuclear
17:56arsenal?
17:57They say
17:58India and
17:59Israel.
18:00And JFK
18:01is immediately
18:02stressed out
18:03about the
18:03news.
18:03He learns
18:04that JFK
18:05wants a
18:05bomb.
18:07Almost
18:08immediately
18:08after he
18:08gets
18:09inaugurated,
18:10JFK
18:11sends a
18:11letter to
18:12the leader
18:12of Israel,
18:13Prime Minister
18:13Ben-Gurion
18:15and says
18:15we want
18:16to inspect
18:16your nuclear
18:17reactor.
18:18We know
18:18you've got
18:18a nuclear
18:19program.
18:20We want
18:21to inspect
18:21it and
18:21we want
18:22to make
18:22sure that
18:22you're not
18:23using it
18:23for weapons
18:24purposes.
18:24And this
18:25inaugurates
18:26a two-year
18:27correspondence
18:28between
18:28Jack
18:29Kennedy and
18:30Ben-Gurion
18:31about the
18:32nuclear
18:32program,
18:33which becomes
18:33increasingly
18:34contentious.
18:35And I'll
18:36read to
18:36you,
18:37this is
18:37a survey
18:40of the
18:40correspondence
18:41between
18:41JFK
18:42and the
18:42Prime
18:42Minister
18:43of
18:43Israel.
18:44And this
18:45is from
18:46an Israeli
18:46paper called
18:47Haaretz.
18:48So again,
18:48it's another
18:49Jewish source.
18:51It says,
18:52quote,
18:52in the
18:52fall of
18:521960,
18:53the
18:53outgoing
18:54Eisenhower
18:54administration
18:55first became
18:56aware of
18:57Israel's
18:58Demona
18:58reactor that
18:59Israel and
19:00France had
19:00begun building
19:01in secret
19:01in 1958.
19:03The CIA
19:04issued a
19:05special
19:07national
19:07intelligence
19:08estimate that
19:09determined that
19:09plutonium
19:10production for
19:11weapons is
19:12at least one
19:13major purpose
19:13of the effort.
19:14Furthermore,
19:15the estimate
19:16predicted that
19:17if the Arab
19:17world believed
19:18that Israel
19:19was acquiring
19:19a nuclear
19:20weapons
19:20capability,
19:21they would
19:22blame the
19:22United States
19:23and France
19:24presumably for
19:25supporting the
19:26project.
19:27At a White
19:28House briefing
19:28on January
19:2919th,
19:30Kennedy inquired
19:31the outgoing
19:32secretary of
19:33state,
19:34Christian Herter,
19:35which countries
19:36were seeking
19:36the bomb.
19:37He said,
19:37Israel and
19:38India.
19:39He added that
19:40the newly
19:41discovered
19:41Demona reactor
19:42would be able
19:42to produce
19:43enough weapons
19:44grade plutonium
19:44for 10 to
19:4515 nuclear
19:46weapons.
19:47He urged
19:47Kennedy to
19:48press hard
19:48for inspections
19:49for Demona
19:50before Israel
19:51introduced such
19:52weapons into
19:53the Middle
19:53East.
19:54Within days
19:55of taking
19:55office,
19:55Kennedy began
19:56urging Ben
19:57Gurion to
19:57accept a
19:58visit to
19:58Demona,
19:59insisting that
20:00a visit was
20:01a condition
20:01for good
20:02diplomatic
20:02relations.
20:04In responding,
20:05Ben Gurion
20:06dragged his
20:06feet,
20:07citing a
20:07cabinet crisis
20:08that had to
20:08be resolved.
20:10By April
20:111961,
20:12the Israeli
20:12ambassador told
20:13the administration
20:14that Israel
20:15agreed to a
20:15tour of Demona
20:16by U.S.
20:17officials.
20:18on May 20th,
20:191961,
20:20two Atomic
20:21Energy Commission
20:22scientists
20:22visited the
20:23site.
20:24This visit
20:25laid the
20:25foundations for
20:26a meeting
20:26set up by
20:27Abe Feinberg,
20:28the financial
20:30backer of
20:30Kennedy's
20:31campaign,
20:32between Ben
20:33Gurion and
20:33Kennedy at
20:35the Waldorf
20:35Astoria in
20:36New York on
20:36May 31st,
20:371961.
20:39And that
20:40satisfied
20:41Kennedy.
20:41There was
20:41that inspection
20:42and then there
20:43was one
20:43other one.
20:45then in
20:461963,
20:47Kennedy brought
20:48up the
20:48issue of
20:49inspections
20:49again.
20:50In early
20:501963,
20:51however,
20:52concerns over
20:52Demona
20:53resurfaced.
20:53By late
20:54January,
20:55Kennedy received
20:56a new
20:56national
20:57intelligence
20:57estimate that
20:59highlighted the
21:00weapons potential
21:00of the
21:01Demona reactor.
21:02They concluded
21:04the facility
21:04would become
21:05operational later
21:06in 1963,
21:07and that by
21:081964,
21:10the reactor
21:10could produce
21:11enough plutonium
21:12for one or
21:13two bombs
21:13every year.
21:14In early
21:15March 1963,
21:17Kent Sherman,
21:18director of the
21:19Office of
21:19National Estimates
21:20that produces
21:21those reports,
21:23signed an
21:24intelligence
21:24estimate detailing
21:25the consequences
21:26if Israel
21:27nuclearizes.
21:28It said,
21:29quote,
21:29Israel's policy
21:30towards its
21:31neighbors would
21:31become more
21:33rather than
21:34less tough.
21:35It would seek
21:36to exploit the
21:37psychological
21:37advantages of
21:38its nuclear
21:39capability to
21:40intimidate the
21:40Arabs and
21:41and prevent
21:42them from
21:42making trouble
21:43on the
21:43frontiers.
21:44Furthermore,
21:45in dealing
21:45with the
21:45United States,
21:46Israel would
21:47use all
21:48means in
21:49its command
21:49to persuade
21:50the United
21:51States to
21:52acquiesce in
21:54or even to
21:55support Israel's
21:56possession of
21:57nuclear bombs.
21:59In other
21:59words,
22:00Israel will do
22:01whatever it
22:02takes to
22:03make the
22:03United States
22:04support its
22:05ambitions to
22:06get the
22:06bomb.
22:08This is in
22:09March 1963,
22:10eight months
22:11before the
22:11assassination.
22:13On April
22:142nd,
22:14the U.S.
22:15ambassador met
22:16Prime Minister
22:16Ben-Gurion and
22:17presented the
22:18American request
22:19for his
22:20ascent to
22:20semi-annual
22:21visits to
22:22Demona in
22:22May and
22:23November with
22:24full access to
22:25all parts and
22:25instruments in
22:26the facility
22:27qualified by
22:28qualified U.S.
22:29scientists.
22:30Ben-Gurion
22:31responded by
22:32saying the
22:33issue would
22:33have to be
22:33postponed until
22:34after Passover,
22:35which ended on
22:36April 15th that
22:38year.
22:38On April 26th,
22:40three weeks
22:40after the
22:41original demand
22:42for inspections,
22:44Ben-Gurion
22:44responded to
22:45Kennedy with a
22:46seven-page
22:47letter that
22:47focused on
22:48broad issues
22:48of Israeli
22:49security and
22:50regional stability,
22:51claiming that
22:52Israel faced an
22:53unprecedented threat.
22:54Ben-Gurion
22:55invoked the
22:55specter of
22:56another
22:56Holocaust and
22:58insisted that
22:58Israel's
22:59security should
22:59be protected by
23:00joint external
23:01security guarantees
23:02to be extended
23:03by the United
23:04States and the
23:05Soviet Union.
23:06In another
23:07letter to
23:08Kennedy's
23:08May 4th
23:09letter,
23:10Ben-Gurion
23:11continued his
23:12earlier effort to
23:13change the
23:13conversation while
23:14also indirectly
23:15explaining the
23:16true purpose of
23:17Demona.
23:19He wrote of his
23:20impressions of the
23:20Egyptian president
23:21Nasser.
23:22He said,
23:23Nasser is in
23:24fact adopting the
23:25national socialist
23:26ideology of the
23:27Nazis.
23:27For many years,
23:28the civilized world
23:29did not take
23:30seriously Hitler's
23:31statement that his
23:32aim was worldwide
23:33extermination of
23:34the Jews.
23:34I have no doubt
23:35that a similar
23:36thing might happen
23:37to Jews in
23:38Israel if Nasser
23:39succeeded in
23:39defeating our
23:40army.
23:41So in other
23:42words, in
23:4463, the CIA
23:46tells Kennedy
23:47they have this
23:48bomb and if
23:49they get it,
23:50they are going
23:51to wage war on
23:52all of their
23:52neighbors.
23:52They are going
23:53to get more
23:53aggressive.
23:54They are going
23:54to force us to
23:55accept their
23:56nuclear arsenal.
23:57It's going to
23:58be very problematic
23:58for our interests.
24:00So Kennedy says
24:01we have to
24:01inspect this
24:02reactor and make
24:03sure it's not
24:04producing bombs or
24:06plutonium for
24:07the use in
24:07bombs.
24:08Ben-Gurion
24:09says, well,
24:10look, he
24:11basically says,
24:12look, if we
24:12don't get the
24:13bomb, it's going
24:13to be another
24:14Holocaust.
24:15He says, Nasser
24:17is uniting all
24:18the Arabs
24:19against us.
24:20They're going
24:20to destroy
24:20Israel.
24:21They're going
24:21to kill all
24:22the Jews in
24:22Israel.
24:23And the
24:24implication is
24:25let us have
24:26the bomb.
24:27Kennedy says,
24:28I want
24:28inspections.
24:29They say we
24:30need a bomb.
24:33That's in a
24:34nutshell what
24:34they're saying.
24:35If that sounds
24:36familiar, by the
24:37way, the
24:38confrontation with
24:39Israel escalated
24:40when the State
24:41Department transmitted
24:42Kennedy's latest
24:43letter on June
24:4415th for immediate
24:45delivery to Ben-Gurion.
24:47In the letter,
24:48Kennedy fleshed out
24:48his insistence on
24:49biannual visits with
24:51a set of detailed
24:52technical conditions.
24:53The letter was an
24:54ultimatum.
24:55If the U.S.
24:56government could not
24:57obtain reliable
24:58information on the
24:59state of their
25:00reactor, Washington's
25:02commitment to and
25:03support for Israel
25:04could be seriously
25:04jeopardized.
25:06The letter was
25:07never presented to
25:08Ben-Gurion.
25:09The telegram with
25:10Kennedy's letter
25:11arrived in Tel
25:12Aviv on Saturday,
25:13June 15th.
25:14The next day,
25:15Ben-Gurion announced
25:17his resignation, a
25:18decision that stunned
25:19his country and the
25:20world.
25:20He never explained in
25:21writing or verbally
25:23what led him to
25:23resign beyond citing
25:25personal reasons.
25:28So consider the
25:30significance of this.
25:33Ben-Gurion is the
25:34founding father of
25:36Israel.
25:36He is Israel's
25:38George Washington.
25:39He is the first
25:40prime minister in
25:411948 when Israel
25:43declares its
25:43independence.
25:44He remains prime
25:46minister virtually
25:47uninterrupted except
25:48for a two-year
25:48period in the 50s.
25:50He is Israel's
25:51first prime minister.
25:52He's effectively
25:53their prime minister
25:54from 1948 all the
25:56way until the day
25:58after he gets an
25:59ultimatum from JFK
26:01about the nuclear
26:02program.
26:04JFK gets in and is
26:06pushing hard.
26:08We want inspections.
26:10We will not let you
26:11get a nuclear bomb.
26:12Non-proliferation of
26:14nuclear weapons is a
26:16priority of the
26:16Kennedy administration.
26:18He is applying
26:19political pressure on
26:20Israel to let America
26:22inspect its facilities.
26:24And the Israelis
26:25perceive the pressure
26:26is so great.
26:26There is actually an
26:28Israeli general who
26:29said he believed
26:30that JFK would
26:31send airborne U.S.
26:33military troops to
26:35inspect the reactor,
26:36that they might
26:37airdrop soldiers into
26:40the desert to look at
26:41the plant.
26:42That's how afraid of
26:43Kennedy they were.
26:45And so Kennedy says,
26:46we have to have
26:47inspections.
26:48They stall.
26:49They delay.
26:50They try to change
26:51the subject.
26:53Finally, Kennedy says,
26:54you know what?
26:55If you don't let us
26:57inspect your nuclear
26:58facility at Demona so
26:59we can make sure you're
27:00not pursuing a weapon,
27:02then we're not
27:03supporting you anymore.
27:06Now, if the prime
27:07minister receives the
27:08letter, he has to
27:10take it seriously.
27:11He has to respond.
27:13If he never gets the
27:14letter, they can
27:17stall more.
27:18So Ben-Gurion, the
27:20founding father, prime
27:21minister for 15 years,
27:24resigns coincidentally
27:25the day after the
27:27letter is received.
27:28So he's not able to
27:29read it and respond to
27:31it.
27:32And this is a complete
27:34surprise to everybody.
27:35He never says why he
27:37resigns.
27:37Why would a person do
27:39this?
27:40Nobody sees it coming.
27:41It's very mysterious.
27:44This is June 1963.
27:47This is five months
27:48before the Kennedy
27:49assassination, and it's
27:50all surrounding the
27:51nuclear program.
27:53But this goes on with
27:55the succeeding prime
27:57minister on July 5th.
27:59Less than 10 days
28:01after Levi Eshkol
28:02succeeds Ben-Gurion
28:04as prime minister, the
28:05U.S. ambassador
28:06delivers a letter from
28:07Kennedy.
28:07It's identical to the
28:08June 15th letter to
28:11Ben-Gurion.
28:12Two weeks later, on
28:14July 17th, Eshkol
28:15requests more time to
28:17study the subject.
28:19On August 19th, a
28:21month after that, Eshkol
28:24replies to Kennedy and
28:26says he'll allow regular
28:27visits of U.S.
28:29inspectors to Dimona.
28:31He suggested that late
28:321963 would be the best
28:34time for a first visit.
28:37Eshkol disregarded
28:38Kennedy's demand for
28:39twice yearly tours.
28:42inspections while
28:43avoiding a frontal
28:44challenge to Kennedy's
28:45request.
28:46In the wake of the
28:47letter, the first of the
28:48long-sought regular
28:49inspections took place
28:51in January 1964, two
28:54months after Kennedy was
28:55killed.
28:56And when the American
28:58inspectors get to
29:00Dimona, finally, so
29:01again, Kennedy is
29:02pushing for inspections
29:03the whole time.
29:04We want to see the
29:05reactor.
29:05We want to see the
29:06reactor.
29:06The CIA report said the
29:08reactor would go critical
29:10in 63.
29:11That's why Kennedy was
29:12pushing it.
29:14The CIA says the reactor
29:16is going critical in 63.
29:17That's when it's
29:18operational.
29:19And by 64, they'll have
29:21enough material for
29:22bombs.
29:23So in 63, Kennedy says,
29:25we have to see it.
29:26We have to see it.
29:27We need to see it by May,
29:29by June.
29:31In June, Kennedy says, we
29:33need to see it or else
29:34we're done with you.
29:35Ben-Gurion resigns.
29:37A month passes.
29:38A new guy gets in.
29:39Another month passes.
29:40He says, all right, we'll do
29:41the inspections.
29:43Three months pass.
29:44Kennedy dies.
29:46December 63, the reactor
29:48goes critical.
29:49January 64, the Americans
29:51arrive for the inspections.
29:53It's too late.
29:53The reactor is critical.
29:55By 1966, Israel has a bomb.
29:58Thank you.