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Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu timeline

  • Prime Minister
    • 1996-1999
    • 2009-2024
    • Longest serving PM in Israeli History

Opinion | Benjamin Netanyahu, moderate - The Washington Post

  • The long and bitter relationship between Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas : NPR

    • In 1996, Israel faced a critical election for prime minister. The conservative candidate, Benjamin Netanyahu, was the underdog. The heavy favorite for prime minister was Shimon Peres, the dovish incumbent and the leading advocate for a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
    • As the election approached, Hamas suicide bombers carried out several deadly attacks, killing more than 50 Israelis.
    • Professor Nathan Brown, a Middle East expert at George Washington University, said this had a powerful impact on Israeli voters.
    • “Suddenly Netanyahu’s message, which was, ‘we can’t trust the peace process,’ started making an awful lot more sense,” said Brown.
    • Those Hamas attacks boosted Netanyahu at the polls.
    • “In a very narrow victory, he was elected prime minister. So there was kind of a symbiotic relationship between them,” Brown added.

  • Secret Recording in 2001

  • 2002 Congress Testimony

  • Haviv Rettig Gur on the Gaza War, American Jews, Islam, Hopes for Peace, more (with Coleman Hughes). - YouTube (1:10hr)

    • Netanyahu had an argument and it was a smart argument: We can’t social engineer and get rid of Hamas. What is left to us is to contain them and live out happy lives separate from them.
    • Since Hamas took over Gaza, Israel’s GDP per capita doubled. And the entire Iranian proxy system demolished their own societies due to their ideology.
    • Argument was time is on our side
    • Gap between Israel and its enemies grows
    • Detain, deter and sit tight
    • Netanyahu was stopping the far-right from wanting to invade Gaza due to the rocket attacks
    • Allowing the Qatari’s to stabilize Hamas in Gaza, preventing the P. from unifying their factions
      • Clever far-right policy
      • Wasn’t the reason for the policy, but it was when he needed
    • Netanyahu governments over last 14 years have been the biggest investors in the Arab community, correct for inflation in the history of Israel
      • Negative income tax for Arab working women
    • Ran explicit anti-Arab campaigns
      • Debate in Israel if he’s racist or pretending to be
      • He’s pretending to be anti-Arab to squeak out that 3% vote
    • Didn’t prop up Hamas

Stealing Nuclear Triggers from U.S. (false, told by Scott Horton)

Okay, let’s fact-check the claim that Benjamin Netanyahu was part of a group with Arnon Milchan that stole krytrons (which can be used as nuclear triggers) from the United States.

Key Findings:

  1. Arnon Milchan’s Involvement in Arms Procurement and Smuggling for Israel:

    • It is well-documented and has been admitted by Arnon Milchan himself that he worked for Israeli intelligence (LAKAM - Bureau of Scientific Relations) in the 1970s and 1980s His activities included procuring sensitive technologies and arms for Israel, sometimes through covert or illegal means
    • Specifically, Milchan was involved in a company called Milco International Inc., which was implicated in the illegal smuggling of krytrons from the U.S. to Israel in the early 1980s. This case primarily involved an individual named Richard Kelly Smyth, who was indicted in 1985 (and became a fugitive for years before being caught and convicted in 2001) Milchan’s company was listed as a recipient of some of these krytrons. (Source 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 1.6)
    • In a 2013 interview on Israel’s Channel 2, Milchan openly discussed his work for Israeli intelligence, including activities that involved smuggling and acquiring sensitive materials Biographies and investigative reports have detailed these activities. (Source 1.1, 1.3, 1.5)

  2. Benjamin Netanyahu’s Connection to Arnon Milchan:

    • Benjamin Netanyahu and Arnon Milchan have a well-known and long-standing close personal relationship (Source 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3)
    • Milchan has been a key figure in corruption investigations against Netanyahu (Cases 1000 and 2000), involving allegations of Netanyahu receiving lavish gifts from Milchan and discussing illicit favors (Source 2.1, 2.2, 2.3)

  3. Direct Link of Benjamin Netanyahu to Krytron Theft/Smuggling with Milchan:

    • This is where the direct claim in your statement lacks clear, substantiated evidence in the public domain.
    • While Milchan’s involvement in the krytron smuggling affair (primarily through his company Milco and operative Richard Kelly Smyth) in the early 1980s is established, there are no widely corroborated reports, official documents, or credible journalistic investigations that directly implicate Benjamin Netanyahu as being personally involved in the act of stealing or smuggling krytrons alongside Milchan.
    • Timeline Context for Netanyahu:
      • In the early 1980s (when the krytron smuggling involving Milco primarily occurred, leading to the 1985 indictment of Smyth), Benjamin Netanyahu was serving in various roles From 1978 to 1980, he was head of marketing for Rim Industries in Jerusalem. From 1980 to 1982, he was a senior manager at the same company. He then moved to the U.S. and served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. from 1982 to 1984, and then as Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1988.
      • While his diplomatic roles in the U.S. coincided with the period when these smuggling activities were happening and coming to light, and he certainly knew Milchan, there’s no public evidence to suggest he was a direct participant in that specific smuggling operation.

Conclusion on the Claim:

  • Arnon Milchan’s involvement (through his company and associates) in the smuggling of krytrons from the U.S. for Israel in the 1980s is TRUE and has been widely reported and even acknowledged in principle by Milchan regarding his intelligence work
  • The claim that Benjamin Netanyahu “was part of a group that stole krytrons” with Milchan is NOT SUBSTANTIATED by publicly available, credible evidence.

While Netanyahu and Milchan have a close and controversial relationship, and Milchan was involved in these illicit activities, there is no clear evidence placing Netanyahu as a direct participant in that specific krytron smuggling operation. The accusation, as phrased, appears to conflate Milchan’s known activities with an unproven direct involvement of Netanyahu in those specific acts of smuggling nuclear triggers.

If such evidence exists in classified intelligence files, it has not become public knowledge or part of any official charges or widely accepted historical accounts linking Netanyahu directly to the krytron diversion itself.

The claim that Benjamin Netanyahu was involved in the theft of krytrons—devices that can serve as nuclear triggers—from the United States is not substantiated by publicly available evidence. However, there is documented information regarding Netanyahu’s association with individuals and entities connected to such activities.

Background on the Krytron Affair

In the early 1980s, a U.S. aerospace engineer named Richard Kelly Smyth, president of MILCO International Inc., was indicted for illegally exporting over 800 krytrons to Heli Trading Company, an Israeli firm owned by Arnon Milchan. Krytrons are high-speed electronic switches that can be used as triggers in nuclear weapons, and their export is strictly controlled under U.S. law. Smyth fled the United States before his trial but was later apprehended in Spain in 2001 and extradited back to the U.S., where he pleaded guilty to violating the Arms Export Control Act. (Wikipedia, Wikipedia, Wikipedia)

Arnon Milchan’s Role

Arnon Milchan is a well-known Israeli-American film producer who, in addition to his Hollywood career, has acknowledged his past involvement in clandestine operations for Israel. He worked for LAKAM, an Israeli intelligence agency focused on acquiring scientific and technical information for Israel’s defense needs, particularly its nuclear program. Milchan’s company, Heli Trading, was implicated in the unauthorized procurement of krytrons from the U.S. (Business Insider, Wikipedia)

Benjamin Netanyahu’s Association

Benjamin Netanyahu is reported to have worked at Heli Trading Company during the period when the illegal export of krytrons occurred. While his exact role at the company is not detailed in the available sources, his association with the firm places him in proximity to the events in question. However, there is no public record or legal documentation indicating that Netanyahu was directly involved in or had knowledge of the krytron smuggling operation. He has not been charged or formally accused in connection with this case. (Wikipedia)

Conclusion

While Benjamin Netanyahu was associated with Heli Trading Company during the time of the krytron smuggling incident, there is no concrete evidence linking him directly to the illegal activities. The primary individuals implicated in the case are Richard Kelly Smyth and Arnon Milchan. Therefore, the assertion that Netanyahu was part of a group that stole nuclear triggers from the United States lacks substantiation based on the information currently available.(Wikipedia)

War-room choices — rival aims and coalition agency