Mordechai Vanunu

{{Audio|He-Mordechai_Vanunu.ogg|Mordechai Vanunu}} (מרדכי ואנונו) (born October 13, 1954), also known by his baptismal name John Crossman, is an Israeli former nuclear technician who revealed details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986. He was subsequently lured to Rome by an American Mossad agent, abducted and smuggled to Israel, where he was tried behind closed doors and convicted of treason.

Disclosure, abduction, and publication

In early September 1986, Vanunu flew to London with Hounam, and in violation of his non-disclosure agreement, revealed to The Sunday Times his knowledge of the Israeli nuclear program, including photographs he had secretly taken at the Dimona site. Anxious to avoid being duped by another Hitler Diaries-sized hoax, The Sunday Times spent extensive time verifying Vanunu’s story with leading experts.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1086956_4,00.html Apparently frustrated by the delay while Hounam was completing his research, Vanunu approached a rival newspaper, the tabloid Sunday Mirror, whose owner was Robert Maxwell. In 1991, a self-described former Mossad officer called Ari Ben-Menashe alleged that Maxwell had tipped off the Mossad about Vanunu. It is also possible that they were alerted by enquiries made to the Israeli Embassy in London by Sunday Mirror journalists.

Related Topics:
London - Photograph - Hitler Diaries - Sunday Mirror - Robert Maxwell - Mossad - Ari Ben-Menashe

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The Israeli government had a good relationship with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, so to avoid embarrasment it was important to get Vanunu out of UK territory under his own volition. The territorial integrity of Italy did not receive the same respect. On September 30, an American Mossad agent, Cheryl Bentov, operating under the name of "Cindy" and masquerading as an American tourist, began an affair with Vanunu, eventually persuading him to fly to Rome with her on a holiday. Once in Rome, Mossad agents drugged him and smuggled him to Israel on a freighter, beginning what was to be more than a decade of solitary confinement in Israeli prisons.

Related Topics:
Prime Minister - Margaret Thatcher - UK - Italy - September 30 - Cheryl Bentov - Rome - Freighter - Solitary confinement

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On October 5, the Sunday Times published the information he had revealed, and estimated that Israel had produced more than 100 nuclear warheads.

Related Topics:
October 5 - Warhead

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