Ernst David Bergmann was a German-born Israeli organic chemist, widely considered the scientific father of the Israeli nuclear bomb. A refugee from Nazi Germany, he became director of the chemistry division at the [[Weizmann Institute of Science]] after [[Israel]]'s War of Independence in 1948. He was also chairman of [[Israel]]'s Atomic Energy Commission, established in 1952, and publicly advocated for nuclear research for peaceful purposes.[^1] Bergmann's dream of nuclear power plants served as an effective cover for his drive to develop nuclear weapons. He worked closely with [[David Ben-Gurion]], then Prime Minister and Defense Minister, and [[Shimon Peres]], director general of the ministry of defense. Bergmann's Israeli Atomic Energy Commission was under the direct jurisdiction of Peres and the defense ministry, indicating its true purpose was not solely peaceful.[^1] In the early 1950s, Bergmann also held the portfolios of scientific adviser to the minister of defense and director of research and planning for the defense ministry. These roles positioned him as a key advocate for nuclear weapons, directly contributing to [[Israel]]'s status as a nuclear-weapons state by the end of the 1960s, in collaboration with the French.[^1] Bergmann's early exposure to atomic science came as a student at the Emil Fischer Institute of the University of Berlin in the 1920s. He was part of a circle of eminent scientists, including [[Herman F. Mark]], who were at the forefront of nuclear fission research. In 1933, due to Nazi decrees, [[Chaim Weizmann]] arranged for Bergmann to join the faculty at Manchester University in England. He later moved to Philadelphia and then Brooklyn, continuing his research and maintaining connections with scientists involved in nuclear fission.[^1] After the defeat of Hitler, Bergmann migrated to Palestine to help establish the [[Weizmann Institute of Science]]. At [[David Ben-Gurion]]'s request, after [[Israel]]'s Independence in 1948, he moved to the ministry of defense, where he established the nation's first institute for defense research under [[Shimon Peres]]. Peres later stated that Bergmann was constantly speaking about a missile capability for [[Israel]] even in 1948.[^1] According to [[Herman F. Mark]], Bergmann was central to the development of the Israeli bomb, completely understanding nuclear fission and explaining it to others. Mark, who served on planning boards for the [[Weizmann Institute]], shared Bergmann's view on the inevitability of Israeli nuclear weapons research, believing that nuclear energy, whether for desalination, power, or a bomb, still involved fission.[^1] Bergmann's role in developing [[Israel]]'s nuclear arsenal remains a state secret. After his death, he became a virtual nonperson due to stringent Israeli security and self-censorship. Despite this, [[Shimon Peres]] eulogized him as one of the seven founders of the State of [[Israel]] in a 1979 book, though without mentioning nuclear weapons.[^1] By mid-1960, when rumors of a possible French pullout from [[Dimona]] circulated, many Israelis, including Bergmann, were ready for the French to leave, believing they could complete the project themselves. Bergmann was a founding member of the Rafi party, and continued to influence [[David Ben-Gurion]] regarding the dangers of not initiating the production of a nuclear arsenal.[^2] By the spring of 1966, Bergmann resigned under pressure as director of the commissionerless Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, as well as from his two high-level defense science posts. Many in the [[Levi Eshkol]] cabinet viewed his departure as long overdue. A pouting Bergmann retreated, with the aid of [[Lewis L. Strauss]], to the Institute of Advanced Studies at Princeton University.[^2] ### Footnotes [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 2. [^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 5.