On August 2, the Traprock Peace Center's Sunny Miller interviewed Mordechai Vanunu, Israel's most famous whistleblower. Once a technician in Israel's power plants, Vanunu was kidnapped from Italy, convicted of treason in a secret trial and jailed for 18 years because he revealed details about Israel's nuclear weapons program to the world.
Can you tell us about your situation now in Israel?
I was released from prison on April 21 and since then I have my place in St. George Cathedral in East Jerusalem, an Anglican church. I'm staying here because the Israeli government imposed on me a restriction not to speak to foreigners for six months and not to go freely for six months ... and for one year I'm not allowed to leave the country.
We appealed to the Supreme Court in Israel, and the Supreme Court left this restriction as it was ... but I'm meeting and speaking to foreigners who come to the church because I'm a Christian and this is a bad situation and I am trying to do all that I can to receive my human rights.
Can you tell us about the threat that you feel is posed by the nuclear reactors in Israel at this time?
My information was about nuclear weapons secrets in Israel. That's what we revealed in 1986 to the London Sunday Times. I've come out with new details, a most interesting revelation about how many nuclear weapons has Israel developed in that time up to 1986. It was about 100 to 200 nuclear weapons. I also revealed Israel was producing new atomic bombs like the hydrogen bomb and the neutron bomb.
The hydrogen bomb has no justification, nor any real excuse for Israel's defence. It's a real holocaust weapon, a hydrogen bomb, and it only can be used against civilians in cities, so I revealed this information to prevent and to bring the attention of the world to what Israel is doing. And also the situation of the reactor, working for 40 years without any inspections from abroad, from international people or even from the Israel government, Israel parliament, even in the media.
We, too, [in the US] suffer the fear of living with a government who has hydrogen bombs. Can you tell about the environmental concern? I understand that you feel Jordan may be particularly threatened by the emissions from the Dimona nuclear reactor.
It's easy to tell that the Dimona reactor has sent into the Earth some radioactive production as a result of the nuclear radioactive activity in Dimona. Because the Dimona reactor was built in the Negev, about five to 10 miles from the Jordan border, anything that can be [emitted] to the air can flow back to Jordan. They used to produce plutonium to dissolve the uranium only when the air flew toward Jordan. That was one of the conditions ... Now there are dissolving [inaudible] materials that can also out-gas and can go to the air, and they can flow to the borders and environment around the Dimona reactor. So the radioactive materials were going outside from Dimona and also include the production of other radioactive materials. They are sending water underground ... from the reactor that can be contaminated with radioactive materials.
So both air and groundwater, you fear, are contaminated downwind and down river from the Dimona reactor?
Yes.
I wonder how do you keep your strength, and how incredible it was that you maintain this commitment to the truth even after solitary confinement. Can you speak about that?
Yes, it started by the urgent demand from my conscience to go and reveal the nuclear secrets about all the nuclear weapons that Israel produced. That's (how) my story began, to reveal the nuclear weapons secrets. Then all what happened later, the kidnapping, the isolation, the injustice by Israel's Supreme Court and obviously their justice system that gave me 18 years; they sentenced me as a traitor and spy, and all the treatment,[and] cruelty ... made me much more determined and firm and bold to continue to speak the truth.
And, also, the Israel situation that continued to silence anyone and treating any state, all of this makes it very sure that I should continue to speak and repeat and bring the news to all the world's attention. So I suffered and paid 18 years, and, yet, I could be also arrested again or questioned, but I think I'm doing the right thing. I'm very sure that I'm doing the best thing for all the human rights, for peace and for world peace and for the Middle East peace. That was sending me to speak very clear and bold.
The question of your capture, that itself was a kidnapping in Italy. Can you speak about that incident?
Yes, after my [revelations] to the Sunday Times in 1986, [Israel's secret service] Mossad and other spy organisations, in not only Israel but foreign states, ... [tried] to silence me, to kidnap me, and they succeeded and brought me to Rome [through] an American young woman. And then in Rome was waiting for me, Mossad and other spy organisations, like [those from the governments of] Italy, France and England.
And then they took me to a boat, a yacht in the sea, and in the sea I asked them, "who are you who would kidnap me?". They said, "we are here, France, England, and Israel". It was a cartel of foreign spies ... who were behind the nuclear proliferation during the Cold War. My revelations damaged all their work during the Cold War. So they decided to try to sentence me and to kidnap me. And they succeeded ... for 18 years.
I understand that you would like to leave as soon as possible and be a free man.
Yes. I absolutely was working for this for 18 years. To feel free is to be out of Israel. In Israel I certainly cannot feel free, especially a man like me who is now called a traitor, and regarded as an enemy of Israel. And also, as a Christian. I was baptised to Christianity in Australia in 1986, but here in Israel they regard my baptism to Christianity as another kind of betrayal. So ... I cannot feel free. I cannot feel safe. There are some threats to my life. But I'm not enjoying to go on the street and walk with people as I want. So all the time I was waiting, but I will not be free. I will go straight to the airport and fly away to the free world: Europe and the United States. That's what I want to do.
I hope that when you are here we will still have some freedoms left in the United States in spite of our government and its criminal record regarding nuclear weapons and experiments on our own people. I thank you for your time, and I understand next you're going for a long swim. Is that right?
Since I'm staying in St. George, and they don't have sea here, so I'm going to swim in a swimming pool, in a hotel swimming pool.
I hope that we will welcome you to the waters here in the United States soon.
Yes. I hope to come swim to the United States and meet lots and lots of friends from all the United States. I received many, many letters during the 18 years in support, encouragement — from the people but not from the government and not from the media. The people of the United States are beautiful and wonderful sending their message of support for many, many years.
The media there has not enough courage just to speak against Israel. The Washington governments still are not able to speak clear and loud against Israel's nuclear policy or even to demand my human rights, my basic human rights. Imagine if one man like me was in an Arab state what the United States was doing, or in other states, but, because I am in Israel, the United States government is silent. So I hope this will change. I hope I'll be free and come to the United States and speak, and maybe I will bring back the message of that freedom that they lost in the last two years after September 11.
Thank you so much. Best wishes to you.
Thank you, too, for bringing my voice to those in the United States.
[Reprinted with permission from <http://traprockpeace.org>.]
From Green Left Weekly, September 1, 2004.
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