A letter to the United Nations

TO MR KOFI ANNAN
THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

YOUR EXCELLENCY,

WHILE THE AIR IS RINGING WITH ACCUSATIONS THAT IRAQ HAS BEEN DEVELOPING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION AND REFUSING TO ABIDE BY SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS, THE WORLD SEEMS TO BE TURNING A BLIND EYE TO THE SITUATION IN ISRAEL.

ISRAEL TOO HAS DEVELOPED WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION - NUCLEAR, CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL - AND SHE HAS THE MEANS TO DELIVER THEM OVER HUNDREDS OF KILOMETRES. ISRAEL TOO HAS FLOUTED NUMEROUS UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTIONS CALLING ON HER TO WITHDRAW FROM THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES, AND OTHER ISSUES. YET SO FAR ISRAEL HAS NOT BEEN CALLED UPON TO ADMIT INSPECTORS WHO COULD MAKE SURE THAT SHE IS NOT IN VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND TREATIES, AND IS NOT THREATENING HER NEIGHBOURS.

WE CALL ON THE UNITED NATIONS IN GENERAL AND THE SECURITY COUNCIL IN PARTICULAR TO DEMAND THAT ISRAEL SUBMIT WITHOUT DELAY TO THOROUGH, EXTENSIVE AND UNRESTRICTED INSPECTIONS BY SUITABLE EXPERTS APPOINTED BY THE WORLD BODY, TO ENSURE THAT SHE POSES NO THREAT TO HER NEIGHBOURS, HER OWN POPULATION, OR THE WORLD.

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO TO THE DAY A BRAVE MAN BY NAME OF MORDECHAI VANUNU, A FORMER TECHNICIAN AT DIMONA'S SECRET NUCLEAR INSTALLATION, REVEALED TO THE WORLD, VIA A BRITISH NEWSPAPER, THAT ISRAEL IS THE WORLD'S SIXTH LARGEST NUCLEAR POWER. HE HAS BEEN LANGUISHING IN AN ISRAELI PRISON EVER SINCE. IT IS IN HIS NAME AND IN SUPPORT OF HIS MORAL CONVICTION THAT WE CALL ON YOU TO APPLY TO ISRAEL THE SAME PRINCIPLES THAT ARE APPLIED TO IRAQ, OR TO ANY OTHER "ROGUE" STATE.

RESPECTFULLY YOURS,

THE ISRAELI COMMITTEE TO FREE MORDECHAI VANUNU
AND FOR A MIDDLE EAST FREE FROM ATOMIC, BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS