J. Robert Oppenheimer was a prominent American theoretical physicist, widely known as the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role as the scientific director of the [[Manhattan Project]] during World War II. He and his colleagues, including [[John von Neumann]], were actively courted by [[Chaim Weizmann]] as early as 1947 to spend time doing research in [[Israel]].[^1] Oppenheimer's personal papers indicate he visited [[Israel]] in May 1958 to participate in ceremonies marking the opening of the Institute of Nuclear Science in [[Rehovot]]. He also took a military flight with [[Ernst David Bergmann]] and [[Shimon Peres]] to visit the port city of [[Eilat]] at the southern reach of the [[Negev]] desert. However, Israeli officials who worked at [[Dimona]] in 1958, then in its early stages of construction, do not recall any visit by Oppenheimer to that site.[^1] Oppenheimer sparked controversy in the early 1950s by advocating that the [[United States]] abate the arms race by forgoing the hydrogen bomb. In 1954, [[Lewis Strauss]] led a successful effort to strip Oppenheimer of his security clearance, with hearings focusing on Oppenheimer's loyalty and integrity.[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 2, 7.