‘The absurdity of refusals by US officials to speak about Israel’s nuclear stockpile is further revealed by the fact that Israeli academics openly admit its existence.

Israeli military historian Martin van Creveld, for example, has spoken openly on the matter, and has even threatened to unleash the arsenal on “the world” if the Israeli state faces an existential threat:

”We possess several hundred atomic warheads and rockets and can launch them at targets in all directions, perhaps even at Rome. Most European capitals are targets for our air force. Let me quote General Moshe Dayan: “Israel must be like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother.” I consider it all hopeless at this point. We shall have to try to prevent things from coming to that, if at all possible. Our armed forces, however, are not the thirtieth strongest in the world, but rather the second or third. We have the capability to take the world down with us. And I can assure you that that will happen before Israel goes under.”

The mention of Rome is no accident. The more fanatical branches of Israeli policymakers have long viewed Rome as an especially desirable target because it is effectively the capital of Christianity, and because the destruction of Rome would be a symbolic blow against the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD.