Nuclear Politics- Israel

When a country decides to become a nuclear power, it is taking on an enormous responsibility; one that will be examined with very close scrutiny by the rest of the world. Their motives are questioned and they become victim to criticism and international sanctions. However, a slippery slope emerges when we attempt to keep countries from becoming nuclear powers. Many feel that it is unfair for countries who posses nuclear weapons to keep other countries from acquiring them as well. Who gets to say who can have what on an international scale? It should not be up to any one country to dictate to another, but in the case of nuclear warheads, it is a matter of possible planetary destruction and the same rules do not apply, especially when you consider that one of the countries who are attempting to gain this power. Iran, has been at odds with Israel, who for three decades has possessed nuclear capabilities themselves. This begs the question: are nuclear weapons Israel’s safeguard from foreign threat, or has it created a situation in the middle east that has pressured other countries into obtaining these weapons to keep themselves safe? We must realize however, that once one nuclear weapon is used, a level of devastation will ensue unequal to anything man has ever seen, and in order to keep this from happening, we must keep as many people from obtaining nuclear weapons as possible.

Israel was the first Middle Eastern country to possess nuclear weapons. Their nuclear programs began in 1948, when Israel was reestablished after WWII, and with the help of French and Jewish Scientists including Ernst David Bergmann, Israel created the “Atomic Energy Commission” which was responsible for the development of Israel’s nuclear technology programs. By 1967 Israel reportedly possessed around ten to fifteen nuclear bombs, officially joining the elite group of nuclear states throughout the world. This was an accepted turn of events, especially in Israel. People believed that being that a Nuclear power “could compensate for Israel's poor natural resources and small pool of military manpower.” There were several reasons that Israel did not delay in creating a nuclear weapons program. As a newly formed country, Israel needed a way to protect itself from foreign threats while it was establishing itself as a country. In addition, Israel was at this time full of survivors of Hitler’s holocaust and people still felt like targets. Nuclear weapons would assure Israel of a formidable deterrent for any attempt at attack or invasion.
Since the British establishment of Palestine, a split occurred within the territory. The Jewish population quickly established themselves as a nation state separate from that of the rest of the region. Considering a majority of that region is comprised of mostly Muslims, an enormous amount of religiously based tension was created which turned the area into a dangerous and unstable region. To aid themselves in their establishment, Israel made it known very early that they were not going to take lightly any threats from neighboring countries and decided that all were to be considered enemies to the state of Israel.

Middle Eastern politics have perplexed the West for decades. Since Israel established itself as a nuclear power, other Middle Eastern countries began working toward nuclear capability as well. Historically, no nuclear power has ever been overthrown by any other country and this, Israelis hope, would keep them safe from attack or invasion. However, this created a localized arms race and set off military build up throughout the Middle East, only adding to tensions between Israel and the rest of the Arab nations.

Knowing the reasoning behind the creation of Israel’s nuclear program then begs the question: has the possession of nuclear bombs worked as a deterrent in preventing wars between Israel and its neighbors? And will it keep holding a strong deterrence at the present and in the future?