Israel’s “nuclear ambiguity”

Though Israel does not formally acknowledge that it has a nuclear capability, it has been widely reported that it has been a member of the “nuclear club” for a number of years.

Israel's nuclear policy is characterized by a low profile, unobtrusiveness and self-restraint. Statements by the country's leaders on the nuclear issue are measured and parsimonious, the most significant being the declaration that Israel will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the region.

The unobtrusiveness is reflected, for example, in the official avoidance of reference to any nuclear capabilities whatsoever, apart from scientific ones and technological infrastructures. The self-restraint is manifested in, among other things, Israel's refraining from boasting or threatening language. This restrained and controlled policy has been consistently followed by all Israeli governments, and it rests on a broad consensus within the Israeli public.

Israel's policy is also quite well understood by key states. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has recently spoken of “the particular worries that Israel has about security, given that it is surrounded by many countries, some of whose stated objective is still to get rid of it." Referring to the idea of a nuclear free zone in the Middle East, Blair noted that: "In order to achieve it, Israel is going to have to be sure that it is surrounded by countries that do not wish it ill." British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw has made it clear that Israel is in an altogether different security category from all the other nations of the world, because Arab and Islamic states are threatening its very existence and denying its right to exist.

American Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has expressed the view of the United States on this issue in his typically colorful manner: "Israel is a small state with a small population. It's a democracy and it exists in a neighborhood that in many, over a period of time has opined from time to time that they would prefer it not be there and they would like it to be put in the sea. And Israel has opined that it would prefer not to get put in the sea, and as a result, over a period of decades, it has arranged itself so it hasn't been put in the sea."

John Bolton, former US undersecretary for Arms Control stated on October 12, 2003: "We tolerate nuclear weapons in Israel for the same reason we tolerate them in Britain and France. We don't regard Israel as a threat".

In his April 14, 2004 letter of commitment to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, United States President George W. Bush mentioned America's "steadfast commitment to Israel's security, including secure, defensible borders, and to preserve and strengthen Israel's capability to deter and defend itself, by itself, against any threat or possible combination of threats." This commitment was first made by President Bill Clinton to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and later on also to Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Now Bush, too, has reaffirmed it.

Such understanding for Israel's nuclear posture derives from its unique security situation, from the fact that it is threatened but not threatening, and by virtue of its democratic and responsible character.