To mark the second anniversary of the kidnapping of the Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu — and the danger posed by the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East — the following statement was sent to and published by Canadian news media:
October 1 marks two years since the Israeli nuclear technician, Mordechai Vanunu, was kidnapped from Europe by the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad, in violation of international law.
Vanunu’s alleged crime was to inform the ordinary citizens of the world, in an interview with the London Sunday Times, that Israel had secretly produced a large number of nuclear weapons.
Vanunu’s technical evidence confirmed British and U.S. atomic scientists’ conclusion that Israel likely has between 100 and 200 nuclear weapons. It is public knowledge that Israel also has a missile delivery system that reaches beyond the Middle East.
Vanurtu made his revelation as an act of personal conscience. He opposes all nuclear weapons and their proliferation. So do we.
After a totally secret trial, an Israeli court sentenced Vanunu to 18 years imprisonment. Currently he is kept in solitary confinement in a 6 square meter cell under 24- hour electric light and camera surveillance. This is a violation of elementary human rights.
Many parliamentarians in England, Australia and Canada have nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Nobel prize winners have expressed their support for him. He has received prestigious awards in Sweden and Denmark
His personal act of conscience is not widely known in Canada where the danger posed by the confirmed proliferation of nuclear weapons to the Middle East is barely discussed in public circles.
We wish to mark the second anniversary of Vanunu’s kidnapping by publicly calling on the Israeli government to release Mordechai Vanunu from prison. He served the cause of human survival, including the survival of the people of his own country, by making known Israel’s possession of these weapons.
We also call on the Israeli government to open its nuclear facilities to international inspection and to join in the current international process of dismantling nuclear weapons.
We hope Canadians will become more aware of the dangers posed by nuclear proliferation. Surely anywhere in the Middle East is one of the least safe places for them to be.
Anthony Arrott, President, Science for Peace Mordecai Briemberg, Dr Fred H. Knelman, Thomas L. Perry, Sr., M.D., Svend J. Robinson, M.P Henry Rosenthal, Editor, Jewish Outlook
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