---
born: 1923
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
died: 2018
location: Israel
summary: Binyamin Blumberg was a former military intelligence officer handpicked by
  Shimon Peres to direct the Office of Special Tasks, a new intelligence agency created
  to provide security for Israel's burgeoning nuclear operation at Dimona.
tags:
- Person
- Nuclear
- Israel
---

Binyamin Blumberg was a former military intelligence officer handpicked by [Shimon Peres](/people/shimon-peres/) to direct the Office of Special Tasks, a new intelligence agency created to provide security for [Israel](/places/israel/)'s burgeoning nuclear operation at [Dimona](/places/dimona/). This office, bureaucratically placed inside the defense ministry, would later become known as [LAKAM](/organizations/lakam/) (Science Liaison Bureau) and was responsible for one of Israel's worst mistakes, the recruitment of [Jonathan Pollard](/people/jonathan-pollard/).[^1]

Blumberg's sole mission in the late 1950s was protecting Dimona, and he was deeply involved in the details, even overturning bureaucratic rules to ensure the hiring of essential scientists. He and his colleagues in the Office of Special Tasks were constantly improving and embellishing the Israeli cover-up regarding Dimona's true purpose, especially during the annual inspections by [Floyd L. Culler, Jr.](/people/floyd-l-culler-jr/) from the [United States](/places/united-states/).[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 5, 15, 21.