The Worst-Kept Secret: Israel's Bargain with the Bomb

Israel has made a unique contribution to the nuclear age. It has created a special "bargain" with the bomb. Israel is the only nuclear-armed state that does not acknowledge its possession of the bomb, even though its existence is a common knowledge throughout the world. It only says that it will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons to the Middle East.

The bomb is Israel's collective ineffable—the nation's last great taboo. This bargain has a name: in Hebrew, it is called amimut, or...