---
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
summary: Physicist and scientific attache at the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv who gathered
  intelligence on Israel's Dimona nuclear facility alongside CIA station chief John
  Hadden.
tags:
- Person
- Nuclear
- Physicist
- Israel
---

Robert T. Webber was a physicist who served as the scientific attaché at the U.S. embassy in [Tel Aviv](/places/tel-aviv/), [Israel](/places/israel/). He earned a doctorate in physics at Yale University and shared [William N. Dale](/people/william-n-dale/)'s interest in [Dimona](/places/dimona/). Webber worked closely with [John L. Hadden](/people/john-l-hadden/), the [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) station chief, in clear violation of a [State Department](/organizations/state-department/) decree forbidding scientific attachés from engaging in intelligence work. He also relied on intelligence gathered by Mel Alba and encouraged collaboration with British and Canadian counterparts. Webber was eventually replaced as science attaché by someone much less interested in [Dimona](/places/dimona/).[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 12.