Israel should agree to nuclear disarmament for its own sake, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War co-president Dr. Ira Helfand told the Knesset duringthe Israeli Disarmament Movement’s first-ever conference in the legislature. Several coalition and opposition MKs spoke out against nuclear weapons at the conference with the leader of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization.

“The current political reality looks like an attempt to hit a wall, when it comes to nuclear war,” MK Dov Khenin (Hadash) said. “It’s essential to understand that the use of nuclear weapons will have terrible results for those using them and not only for their target. The conclusion is that it is necessary to urgently find alternatives, like promoting disarmament in the entire Middle East.” Meretz MK Tamar Zandberg criticized the lack of public discourse about the pros and cons of nuclear weapons in Israel, despite concern over Iran.

MK Dov Khenin and Dr. Ira Helfand during the first-ever conference on nuclear weapons held in the Knesset (Photo: Israeli Disarmament Movement)

In an interview with “The Jerusalem Post”, Helfand discussed his research, which has found that even a limited nuclear war – such as one between India and Pakistan – would result in widespread famine. In 2006, Rutgers University researchers found that a theoretical nuclear war between India and Pakistan using about 50 warheads – half a percent of the world’s nuclear weapons – would lead the world’s temperature to drop by 1.3 degrees centigrade. Helfand studied what impact this would have upon human health, specifically nutrition, and found that corn growth would drop 10% in the US and rice 15% in 10 years.

“It’s worse than we expected. This would cause worldwide famine,” Helfand said. “When you get a small decrease in food, the price of food goes up and the 870 million people who are already malnourished won’t be able to survive.” In addition, much of the Middle East – which depends on food imports – will be at risk, because countries where food production will decline will export less. “There’s a potential of 1 billion dead, because of a limited war in one corner of the world,” Hefland warned.

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               MK Khenin during the anti-nuclear conference (in Hebrew)