Walworth Barbour

Walworth Barbour was the American ambassador to Israel from 1961 to 1973, serving longer in one post than all but three other American ambassadors. He was a compelling presence, described as a tall, shy, hugely overweight diplomat with a gluttonous appetite and acute emphysema. He constantly sprayed his throat with a vaporizer, wore yellowing white suits with brown-and-white shoes, and walked with a shambling gait. Barbour spoke no Hebrew and rarely attended educational, cultural, or social events, yet he was beloved by Israel's leadership.¹

Barbour's long assignment was a testament to his understanding of when and when not to accept every Israeli assertion at face value, and his willingness to operate the American embassy as a subsidiary, if necessary, of the Israeli foreign ministry. He often reminded his questioning subordinates that he was a President's man with a personal mandate, not a servant of the State Department.¹

In his first six years as ambassador, Barbour rarely interfered with the job of those working in his embassy, and some of the most accurate reporting on Dimona was forwarded to Washington, D.C.. However, these reports had no impact and disappeared into the bureaucratic maze. After the 1967 Six-Day War, he ordered his staff to stop reporting on nuclear weapons in Israel, over the objection of one key aide. His primary assignment was to insulate President Lyndon B. Johnson and his men from facts that would compel action regarding Israel's nuclear program.¹

Barbour's closest associates were senior officials of the Israeli government, including Golda Meir and Major General Aharon Yariv. He shared the taboo of not discussing nuclear weapons with outsiders. However, it was Barbour's men who reported before the June 1967 war that Israel had completed its basic weapons design and was capable of manufacturing warheads for deployment on missiles.¹

In 1970, Barbour made a rare public appearance, sharing a podium with Prime Minister Golda Meir at the opening of an American school in Tel Aviv. After his retirement in 1973, he became a board member of the American branch of Bank Leumi, the Israeli state bank, a move that confounded and distressed many of his former colleagues in the Foreign Service who saw it as a conflict of interest.¹

Upon the inauguration of President Richard Nixon in January 1969, Barbour became even less interested in Dimona, effectively exorcising the issue. He famously told a senior American intelligence officer who briefed him on Israel's nuclear weapons program, "Gentlemen, I don't believe a word of it," explaining that if he acknowledged it, he would have to go to the President, and the President did not want bad news.¹

Barbour's support for Israel was profound and heartfelt. He remained on the board of Bank Leumi until his death, seemingly unconcerned with his peers' opinions.¹