---
category: "Nuclear Scientists & Programs"
tags:
  - Person
  - Nuclear
  - Israel
summary: "Pinhas Sapir was an Israeli politician who, along with Levi Eshkol, dominated the Israeli budget process for more than fifteen years."
born: 1906-10-15
died: 1975-08-12
location: "Suwałki, Poland"
---

Pinhas Sapir was an Israeli politician who, along with [[Levi Eshkol]], dominated the Israeli budget process for more than fifteen years. He was a perennial critic of [[Israel]]'s nuclear program, viewing the Egyptian arms buildup as the most compelling argument against investing money at [[Dimona]]. Sapir saw a nuclear-armed [[Israel]] as financial madness and believed it would only lead to conflicts with the [[United States]] and a lessened flow of American contributions.[^1]

### Footnotes

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 5, 9.