Fresh start from commit 85df488cc66fa4934e54d62f1eaeffd274743b7a

10 - PEOPLE/(F-G)/Abraham Feinberg.md

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+---
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - Businessman
+  - Philanthropist
+  - USA
+---
+Abraham Feinberg was a wealthy New York businessman and ardent advocate of statehood for [[Israel]]. By 1947, he played a major and discreet role in fundraising and White House lobbying for [[Israel]] and the Democratic Party. He would operate at the highest levels between [[Washington D.C.]] and [[Jerusalem]] for two decades.[^1]
+
+Feinberg was a close friend of [[Ernst David Bergmann]], and in the fall of 1947, Bergmann indiscreetly revealed to Feinberg that there was uranium in the [[Negev]] desert, implying a path for [[Israel]] to develop the atomic bomb. Feinberg was astonished by this talk and "shushed him up."[^1]
+
+Feinberg was recruited by [[David Ben-Gurion]] in 1945 to help raise money for guerrilla operations against the British mandatory power in [[Palestine]]. He recalled that the kibbutz's administrative building, constructed near a large British military base, was a "fraud," serving as a cover for a secret underground plant producing bullets for the Hagannah. The facility was "scooped out" in twenty-seven days, with workers alternating between farming and arms production to maintain the deception.[^2]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 2.
+[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 15.

10 - PEOPLE/(F-G)/Gerald R. Ford.md

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+---
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - President
+  - Government
+---
+Gerald R. Ford was the 38th President of the [[United States]], serving from 1974 to 1977. His administration, along with that of [[Richard M. Nixon|Richard Nixon]], maintained a warm relationship with [[Israel]], a stark contrast to the later approach of the [[Jimmy Carter|Carter]] administration. Ford's precedent was to tightly restrict access to high-quality [[KH-11]] imagery, even to close allies like [[Great Britain]].[^1]
+
+In late 1976, at the end of his tenure as President, [[Henry A. Kissinger]] casually mentioned to [[Hermann F. Eilts]], the American ambassador to [[Egypt]], a concern that the Israelis might go nuclear if they didn't receive military equipment quickly. This occurred during a final meeting where Kissinger brought up the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]] again.[^2]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 1.
+[^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 17.

10 - PEOPLE/(F-G)/Ghaith R. Pharaon.md

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+---
+tags: ["Person", "Financier", "BCCI"]
+---
+Ghaith R. Pharaon was a flamboyant [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]] front man and a [[Saudia Arabia|Saudi]] financier.[^1] He acquired [[Georgia National Bank]] and [[Independence Bank of Encino]], and was a shareholder in [[Attock Oil]], BCCI, and [[CenTrust Savings Bank]].[^2]
+
+### Business Ventures and BCCI Involvement
+
+Pharaon launched himself into the construction business in [[Saudi Arabia]] in 1965, founding [[Saudi Arabian Research and Development Corporation]] (REDEC). REDEC grew to have revenues exceeding $1 billion and employed 17,000 people by 1979.[^3] Pharaon owned pharmaceutical companies, steel-fabricating plants, and water-bottling plants, and was involved in joint ventures with companies like South Korean [[Daelim]] and [[Ralph M. Parsons]] Company.[^4]
+
+Pharaon was recruited by [[Agha Hasan Abedi]] and used as a front for BCCI to acquire entities that were difficult for BCCI to obtain directly, including the National Bank of Georgia and Independence Bank.[^5] He was listed as BCCI's single largest shareholder by 1985, holding 16 percent of the company, though this was a sham achieved through Abedi's circular loan scheme.[^6]
+
+He was involved in the sham purchase of CenTrust debentures, acting as a front for BCCI, which allowed CenTrust to remain open longer, costing U.S. taxpayers an estimated $2 billion.[^7] Pharaon and Abedi also teamed up to purchase Hercules, Inc., a munitions manufacturer.[^8]
+
+### Political Connections and Legal Issues
+
+Pharaon had extensive political connections, including with [[Jimmy Carter]], to whose charitable organizations he made donations.[^9] He was involved in lobbying efforts to keep CenTrust afloat, meeting with figures like [[M. Danny Wall]], then the nation's top thrift regulator.[^10]
+
+Pharaon was indicted by the [[Justice Department]] in 1992 for his role in the bond-swap conspiracy related to CenTrust and the secret ownership of [[Independence Bank of Encino]].[^11] He is described as fleeing from several indictments in the United States and is under investigation in [[Argentina]].[^12]
+
+## Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 11.
+[^2]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 11.
+[^3]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 205.
+[^4]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 205.
+[^5]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 43.
+[^6]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 211.
+[^7]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 220.
+[^8]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 220.
+[^9]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 202.
+[^10]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 85.
+[^11]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 221.
+[^12]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 394.

10 - PEOPLE/(F-G)/John W. Finney.md

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+---
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - Journalist
+  - USA
+---
+John W. Finney was a reporter for the *New York Times*, covering nuclear issues and the [[Atomic Energy Commission|AEC]]. In December 1960, he broke a major story revealing that [[Israel]], with French help, had secretly built a nuclear reactor in the [[Negev]] to produce plutonium. This information was leaked to him by [[John A. McCone]], then chairman of the AEC, who was angered by [[Israel]]'s and [[France]]'s secrecy.[^1]
+
+Finney's article, published on December 19, 1960, on the front page of the *Times*, informed the American public about what [[Arthur C. Lundahl]] and [[Dino A. Brugioni]] had been reporting to the White House for over two years. He was used by the [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] administration to publicly address the issue of [[Dimona]], which senior officials were apprehensive about doing themselves.[^1]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 6.

10 - PEOPLE/(F-G)/Leonard Garment.md

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+---
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - Lawyer
+  - USA
+---
+Leonard Garment was a prominent Washington attorney and former aide to [[Richard M. Nixon]]. He was hired by [[Israel]] in June 1986 to represent Colonel [[Aviem Sella]], the Israeli handler of [[Jonathan Pollard]], after Pollard gave up Sella's name. Garment's goal was to find common ground between [[Washington D.C.]] and the government of [[Israel]] and settle the matter before it led to more damaging press.[^1]
+
+Garment flew to [[Tel Aviv]] to interview Sella and speak with Israeli officials. The Israeli position, as outlined to Garment, was that Sella had done nothing more than meet socially with Pollard and that there wasn't the slightest indication of spying on his part. Garment, however, began stalling for time and refused to file the proffer as initially written, saying it needed more work. He returned to [[Washington D.C.]] to try to negotiate a diplomatic solution.[^1]
+
+During a meeting with a six-man Israeli delegation in August 1986, Garment was pressured to file the proffer. He eventually lost his temper and warned the Israelis that if they made a move in his direction, he would throw them in the pool. It was later agreed that Garment would withdraw from the case quietly. Garment informed U.S. Attorney [[Joseph E. diGenova]] and Deputy Assistant Attorney General [[Mark M. Richard]] that he was leaving the case because he was not sure whether his client was Aviem Sella or the Israeli government.[^1]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 21.

10 - PEOPLE/(F-G)/Mordecai Gur.md

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+---
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - Military
+  - Israel
+---
+Mordecai Gur was the Israeli military attaché. He was present during a meeting between [[Henry A. Kissinger]] and [[Simcha Dinitz]], the Israeli ambassador, during the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]], where Dinitz emphasized the desperate situation of the Israeli military and the need for more tanks and aircraft. Gur, who could be trusted with sensitive information, was dismissed from the meeting when Dinitz insisted on speaking with Kissinger alone.[^1]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 17.

10 - PEOPLE/(F-G)/Myer Feldman.md

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+---
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - Government Official
+  - USA
+---
+Myer Feldman, also known as Mike Feldman, served as President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s presidential point man for Jewish and Israeli affairs. Kennedy viewed Feldman, whose strong support for [[Israel]] was widely known, as a necessary evil and a political debt that had to be paid. Feldman was authorized to monitor all [[State Department]] and White House cable traffic on the [[Middle East]], which created bureaucratic chaos due to his strong bias towards [[Israel]].[^1]
+
+Feldman had no illusions about the backbiting within the White House, but his obvious influence made it tolerable. He continued to operate as Kennedy's special envoy to the Israeli government on sensitive issues, including nuclear weapons. He was allowed to visit [[Dimona]] in 1962 and knew firsthand that [[Israel]] was intent on building the bomb.[^1]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 8.

10 - PEOPLE/(F-G)/Philip J. Farley.md

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+---
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - Government Official
+  - USA
+---
+Philip J. Farley was an aide to [[Christian A. Herter]], serving as a special assistant to [[John Foster Dulles]] for arms control since 1956. When asked by Herter to approach the French about their involvement with [[Israel]]'s nuclear program, Farley knew that a direct approach would be "pointless." He quietly raised the issue with a deputy to the French ambassador and came away convinced that the fears about a French connection were warranted.[^1]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 6.

10 - PEOPLE/(F-G)/Raymond Fox.md

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+---
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - Scientist
+  - Nuclear Physicist
+  - USA
+---
+Raymond Fox was an American nuclear physicist who emigrated to [[Israel]] in 1957 from [[California]], where he had access to weapons design information at the [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]]. His secrets were considered potentially invaluable to the Israelis at [[Dimona]].[^1]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 7.

10 - PEOPLE/(F-G)/Roswell L. Gilpatric.md

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+---
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - Government Official
+  - USA
+---
+Roswell L. Gilpatric was an American government official who served as Deputy Secretary of Defense under President [[John F. Kennedy]]. He headed a special panel on nonproliferation convened by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] after [[China]]'s first nuclear test in 1964. The panel's report, returned on January 21, 1965, amounted to an indictment of past and present policy, warning that the world was "fast approaching a point of no return" in controlling the spread of nuclear weapons. It urged the President to substantially increase efforts and advocated for nuclear-free zones in [[Latin America]], [[Africa]], and the [[Middle East]], including [[Israel]] and [[Egypt]].[^1]
+
+The report also suggested reconsidering a controversial American plan to create a multilateral force (MLF) that would give [[NATO]] members, including West Germans, a joint finger on the nuclear trigger. The report was deemed "as explosive as a nuclear weapon" by [[Dean Rusk]], then Secretary of State, and was kept highly classified. Despite its significance, the report went nowhere, and nonproliferation continued to be treated as a topic fit only for arms controllers.[^1]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 11.

10 - PEOPLE/(F-G)/Shalheveth Freier.md

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+---
+tags:
+  - Person
+  - Scientist
+  - Nuclear Physicist
+  - Israel
+---
+Shalheveth Freier was an Israeli nuclear physicist with impeccable credentials. He served as scientific counselor to the Israeli embassy in [[Paris]] during the critical days of the 1950s, when the Israeli–French nuclear understanding was reached. Freier enjoyed high standing among international scientists and was particularly well known to American nuclear weapons designers.[^1]
+
+Freier was the replacement for [[Aharon Katzir]] as the innovative physicist in charge of [[Dimona]] after Katzir's death in May 1972. During the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War]], Freier provided a separate, preliminary briefing to [[Golda Meir]]'s "kitchen cabinet" on the nuclear weapons and targets available for immediate assembly.[^1]
+
+### Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 16, 17.