The Samson Option

Israel has been a nuclear power for more than 25 years. Yet even in 1991, Israeli officials denied that their country possessed an atomic arsenal. Here, for the first time is the story of the Israeli nuclear weapons program & its influence on world events. Recounts Israel's clandestine nuclear mission, from the building of a reactor site in the Negev desert during the late 1950s, to the establishment by the late 1970s of a sophisticated underground nuclear production facility that targeted & threatened Israel's enemies in the Middle East as well as the Soviet Union itself. America turned a blind eye toward Israel's nuclear capacity while paying lip service to the goal of nuclear non-proliferation.

Exposes one of the most well-protected political-military secrets of the Cold War.

In the first detailed account of Israel's nuclear record, Cohen forges an interpretive political history, drawing on thousands of American and Israeli once-classified documents.

"Almost defies belief . . . a riveting tale of Israeli determination and cunning—and Washington's indecision, ineptitude and acquiescence."—Dallas Morning News An investigation into Israel's nuclear capabilities discloses information about the country's rush toward nuclear status, its collaboration with South Africa and Iran, and its espionage activities.

"Significant change took place when President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger adopted a new strategy.

Samuel Rosen passed from this life into the next with no struggle, no anxiety as the thin blade severed the artery in his throat . . . His killer calmly stepped back out of the range of the spurting blood, wiped off his knife with a corner of the duvet and whispered "Allah Akbar," God is great. Far away in Bombay, Ari Ben Chaim learns that four people in his life have been murdered by unknown assassins -- his adoptive parents, a psychologist who treated him after he resigned from the Israeli Army, even an old Englishwoman who had been his baby nurse many years before -- and Ari must find out why. He returns to Israel in search of answers, only to find more questions when he is kidnapped by a Muslim splinter group, escapes and then is recruited by the Israeli intelligence service for a top secret mission into the heart of Iran's weapons program.

On the New York Times Best Seller list for 12 weeks (August 12-October 28, 1990) “This is a comprehensive history of Israel’s security establishment. The authors celebrate successes like Eichmann’s capture, but far more interestingly, they do not shy away from examining the security services’ failures... the book is riveting because Israel’s early intelligence feats still resonate in today’s world... the book makes valuable reading for anyone interested in Israel’s world-wide plans to deal with matters affecting its security.” — Wall Street Journal “The authors... obviously found enough talkative sources... to provide them with the remarkable case histories they describe here. Even though some of the Israeli operatives sound boastful, the book is not propaganda or disinformation. While it is filled with many examples of how Mossad pulled off major coups, the authors are at pains to point out that the Israelis sometimes goofed... The authors flesh out stories that once made headlines with fresh material. Not all the Israeli intelligence triumphs involved violence. The Israelis managed to outrun the C.I.A. and all of Western Europe’s spy agencies in getting their hands on a copy of Nikita S. Khrushchev’s secret speech in 1956 to a special Communist Party Congress in Moscow that exposed the horrors of the Stalin era... The story of the 1960 capture in Buenos Aires of Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi war criminal, by Mossad and Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, is lovingly re-created. A high point of Israeli intelligence came in 1967, during the Six-Day War, when foreknowledge of enemy positions and abilities paved the way for a rapid victory. The astonishing rescue in 1976 by army commandos of hijacked passengers from Entebbe airport in distant Uganda gained added respect for Israel in the Western world. Against the triumphs, the authors balance these failures: Mossad’s misjudgments in Lebanon, Shin Bet’s killings of Arab terrorists in captivity, and the involvement of Israel in the disarray of Irangate. In addition, double agents were used in Britain and caught there; an American, Jonathan Pollard, was encouraged to spy and sell military secrets to Israel, and faulty intelligence resulted in ‘misleading the Government over the future of the occupied territories, just as a Palestinian uprising was beginning.’... [a] highly revealing book.” — New York Times “Everything you wanted to know about Israel’s spies and secret services — but were afraid to discover. This comprehensive history and analysis of the Israeli intelligence community offers many original insights into the secret psyche of the Jewish State... The book presents new information on some of Israel’s greatest intelligence coups and failures.” — Kirkus “Basing their work on interviews with former operatives and on declassified documents, CBS news correspondent Raviv and Israeli journalist Melman here produced a revealing critical history of the rise and decline of Israel’s vaunted security and intelligence arm.“ — Publishers Weekly “[A] detailed history of Israel’s intelligence agencies.“ — Washington Post “Every Spy a Prince is by far the best book ever published on Israel’s intelligence community, filled with new and fascinating information, skillfully and intelligently written and, above all, bold and judicious in its assessments of the triumphs and failures of one of the most remarkable espionage organizations in the world.” — San Francisco Chronicle “A highly readable, well-organized portrait of the main Israeli intelligence services .. . . Every Spy a Prince is a valuable, balanced addition to the mushrooming literature about the world’s second oldest profession.” — Newsday