By Mark D. Zimmerman
The biographical film Oppenheimer opens this week, telling the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, son of a Prussian-Jewish immigrant, who became a theoretical physicist and director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. Oppenheimer is credited as the “father of the atomic bomb” for his role in the Manhattan Project, and he was present in 1945 at the first atomic bomb test. Only a few years later, Israel began its own nuclear program. Prime Minister David ben-Gurion strongly advocated for a nuclear capability to prevent another Holocaust, and he stated, “What Einstein, Oppenheimer, and Teller, the three of them are Jews, made for the United States, could also be done by scientists in Israel, for their own people.” This effort led to the secret building in the late 1950’s of the Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona, housing a nuclear reactor and reprocessing plant. United States embassy officials saw the construction taking place when on a helicopter fight over the area, but an Israeli official was able to convince them that the construction was of a textile factory. Israel’s nuclear enterprise remained largely secret until 1986, when a former nuclear technician at the plant, Mordechai Vanunu, released information about Israel’s nuclear program to the press. Though much is still unknown about Israel’s nuclear capability, it is estimated that Israel’s stockpile of nuclear warheads ranges between 80 and 400. When Israel first built the nuclear facility they received major support from France, which provided the nuclear reactor that was installed in Dimona. What assistance did Israel receive from another country in support of their nuclear program?
A. South Africa provided the uranium which enabled Israel to power up the nuclear reactor.
B. Norway provided the heavy water that was needed for the reactor to operate.
C. The plans for the building of the nuclear plant were actually drawn up in the United States by some of the Jewish scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project. They received input from J. Robert Oppenheimer, though his role was not revealed until after his death in 1967.
D. The steam generator which is a major component of the cooling system was provided by Siemens, a German company.
E. Shmattes were sent to Israel from Jewish peddlers on the Lower East Side in New York City. These were strewn around the nuclear plant to fool United States officials who asked to tour the “textile factory” in Dimona.
Link to answer: http://rrrjewishtrivia.com/answers-2023/oppenheimer-and-israeli-nuclear-answer.html
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Mark Zimmerman is the author of a series of Jewish trivia books, under the title RASHI, RAMBAM and RAMALAMADINGDONG: A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts & Fun.