A big reason why it's taboo went unmentioned during the hearing. Because Israel is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and also has nuclear weapons, every dollar of aid to Israel breaks American law. Beyond that, the feigned official ignorance about Israel's nuclear arsenal is meant to obscure the sheer hypocrisy of nuclear-armed Israel -- a country with a government increasingly dominated by expansionist and religious zealots -- decrying Iran's enrichment of uranium, particularly given the US intelligence community has repeatedly assessed that Iran stopped its initial pursuit of such weapons 23 years ago."You're the main person in charge of knowing this and understanding it," said Castro. "I don't understand why this issue is so taboo, when it's a basic question, and we're in a war alongside Israel against Iran, we're dealing with the potential for nuclear fallout, and you won't answer this basic question."
Perversely, U.S. government employees who dare discuss or release information about Israel’s nuclear weapons program—and thus illuminate the ongoing criminality of U.S. aid to Israel—would themselves be subject to prosecution, thanks to a secret classification directive issued by the Obama administration.
The two-page gag order was released in 2015 in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. Other than the title—“Guidance on Release of Information Relating to the Potential for an Israeli Nuclear Capability”—nearly every word has been redacted.