Mordechai Vanunu is a hero. After being imprisoned for 18 years by the Israeli state for divulging the Jewish state’s covert nuclear weapons program, he was released last year to much fanfare. I wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald in April 2004 that the world should salute a man who risked his freedom in the noble aim of bringing peace to the Middle East. During the last 10 months, he spoke to various media organisations, against the rules of his release, continually campaigning for a nuclear-free Israel, criticising Israel’s policy in the Occupied Territories, and perhaps most importantly, rejecting Israel as his homeland and requesting asylum in a host of other countries.
We now learn he has been rearrested in Israel. His main crime appears to have been speaking to journalists and allegedly threatening Israel’s national security. The fact remains that Israel has never forgiven Vanunu for confirming what the world always suspected – Israel was nuclear-armed and dangerous. He does not deserve to remain incarcerated for the remainder of his life, a situation that seems increasingly likely if Israel gets its way.
One of many websites dedicated to freeing Vanunu can be found here.