Shalheveth Freier was director of the scientific department of the Israeli Ministry of Defense in the early 1950s when the country began to explore nuclear energy. Initial attempts to produce uranium and heavy water were controversial but received a major boost in 1953 when the French Atomic Energy Commission offered to buy the process of uranium extraction Israel had developed. He discusses this and other international sources of support for nuclear activities, such as the Atoms for Peace program. The interview also touches on the subject of Israel and the nuclear threshold, and he offers lengthy views on the international nonproliferation regime, Israel's concerns about threats from the Arab states, and the country's dealings with the International Atomic Energy Agency. He also comments on what he sees as the sense of privilege on the part of larger powers that possess nuclear weapons toward smaller countries that do not.