Book

Divert!: Numec, Zalman Shapiro and the Diversion of Us Weapons Grade Uranium Into the Israeli Nuclear Weapons Program

2012

Synopsis

Divert! by Grant F. Smith explores the controversial history of the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC), a small nuclear processing plant in Apollo, Pennsylvania, and its role in the suspected diversion of highly enriched uranium to Israel. The narrative centers on Zalman Shapiro, the brilliant but enigmatic founder of NUMEC, whose close ties to Israeli intelligence and high-level officials raised persistent red flags within American security agencies. Smith meticulously reconstructs how hundreds of kilograms of weapons-grade material went missing under the guise of "industrial loss," arguing that these discrepancies were not mere accounting errors but a deliberate pipeline fueled by ideological commitment.

The book details the decades of investigation by the FBI, CIA, and Atomic Energy Commission, revealing a complex web of surveillance and political maneuvering. Smith posits that despite overwhelming circumstantial evidence and eyewitness accounts of suspicious activity at the plant, high-level political pressure often stifled meaningful prosecution or public disclosure. By analyzing declassified documents and interview transcripts, the author portrays a systemic failure of American oversight that allowed a private contractor to potentially jump-start a foreign nuclear weapons program during the height of the Cold War.

Ultimately, Smith frames the NUMEC affair as a pivotal moment in the history of nuclear non-proliferation and U.S.-Israel relations. He contends that the diversion set a precedent for "strategic ambiguity" and demonstrated how private enterprise could be leveraged for covert state objectives. The book serves as both a biographical study of Shapiro's complex motivations and a broader critique of the institutional secrecy that surrounds the intersection of private industry and international nuclear intelligence.

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