---
born: 1937-04-08
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
summary: Hersh conducted extensive research for *The Samson Option*, interviewing
  many senior American officials, most of whom spoke for the first time about their
  knowledge of Israel's nuclear arsenal.
tags:
- Person
- Nuclear
- Israel
---

[Seymour Hersh](/people/seymour-hersh/) is an [American](/places/united-states/) investigative journalist and author. His book, *The [Samson Option](/concepts/samson-option/): Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*, published in 1991, details how [Israel](/places/israel/) secretly became a nuclear power and how this secret was largely ignored or sanctioned by top U.S. officials since the [Eisenhower](/people/dwight-d-eisenhower/) years.[^1][^2]

Hersh conducted extensive research for *The Samson Option*, interviewing many senior American officials, most of whom spoke for the first time about their knowledge of [Israel](/places/israel/)'s nuclear arsenal. He chose not to conduct research in [Israel](/places/israel/) due to the country's censorship laws, which require journalists to submit all material to military censors who can make changes or deletions if they perceive a threat to national security.[^2]

Hersh's book, along with [Gary Sick's](/people/gary-sick/) *October Surprise*, quoted [Ari Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/) as a prominent source. This led to an intense and prolonged barrage of media attacks seeking to discredit [Ben-Menashe](/people/ari-ben-menashe/).[^1]

[Maxwell](/people/robert-maxwell/) and the Mirror Newspaper Group sued [Hersh](/people/seymour-hersh/) and his publishers over the allegations in *The [Samson Option](/concepts/samson-option/)*. However, some of the critical denials in the *Mirror* articles were shown to be false, and [Hersh](/people/seymour-hersh/) and his publishers filed a countersuit against [Maxwell](/people/robert-maxwell/), [Nicholas Davies](/people/nicholas-davies/), and the Mirror Newspaper Group.[^1]

[^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. *Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network*. TrineDay, 1992.
[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991.