October 5 1986 – 2 Tishrei 5747
Breaking news in the London Sunday Times informed the world that Israel was equipped with hundreds of nuclear war-heads, ten times more than previous estimates. The information was leaked by Mordechai Vanunu, who’d worked as a technician at Israel’s nuclear facility, and later confirmed by nuclear scientists. The Times report also included details of the structure of Israel’s nuclear reactor, its history and working routine, as well as the different kind of weapons housed there. After publication, the Israeli intelligence services abducted Vanunu. He was tried behind closed doors, found guilty of treason and espionage, and sentenced to eighteen years imprisonment. Over the years, human rights activists tried in vain to win Vanunu a pardon. He was eventually released from prison in 2004, but refused permission to leave Israel.