---
born: 1924
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
died: 2004-10-29
location: Massachusetts
summary: Finney's article, published on December 19, 1960, on the front page of the
  *Times*, informed the American public about what Arthur C.
tags:
- Person
- Nuclear
- Israel
---

John W. Finney was a reporter for the *New York Times*, covering nuclear issues and the [AEC](/organizations/atomic-energy-commission/). In December 1960, he broke a major story revealing that [Israel](/places/israel/), with French help, had secretly built a nuclear reactor in the [Negev](/places/negev-desert/) to produce plutonium. This information was leaked to him by [John A. McCone](/people/john-a-mccone/), then chairman of the AEC, who was angered by [Israel](/places/israel/)'s and [France](/places/france/)'s secrecy.[^1]

Finney's article, published on December 19, 1960, on the front page of the *Times*, informed the American public about what [Arthur C. Lundahl](/people/arthur-c-lundahl/) and [Dino A. Brugioni](/people/dino-a-brugioni/) had been reporting to the White House for over two years. He was used by the [Eisenhower](/people/dwight-d-eisenhower/) administration to publicly address the issue of [Dimona](/places/dimona/), which senior officials were apprehensive about doing themselves.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 6.