Benjamin Blumberg (later adopted the name Benjamin Vered) was born on June 14, 1923, at the Mikveh Israel agricultural school in Mandatory Palestine, where his maternal grandfather was a founder and his father served as manager. He grew up in a kibbutz environment, became a squad leader in the Haganah at age 14, left home at 15 to live among Druze and learn Arabic fluently, and fought in the 1948 War of Independence in the Tiberias region. After the war, he served with Shin Bet and was appointed security chief of the Ministry of Defense, overseeing its offices, construction bureaus, and arms industries. In the mid-1950s, he was tasked with protecting the secret Negev Nuclear Research Center (Dimona) during its construction with French assistance and reportedly tricked U.S. nuclear inspectors. From 1957 to 1981, Blumberg founded and headed Lekem (LAKAM), Israel's Bureau of Scientific Relations, a covert agency for scientific intelligence procurement, particularly for the nuclear program, operating independently. Key operations under his leadership included acquiring 21 tons of heavy water from Norway in the 1960s, involvement in the 1968 Operation Plumbat to intercept 200 tons of uranium oxide (yellowcake), economic espionage for rocket technology, and handling agent Arnon Milchan. In the 1970s, he managed security relations with South Africa, including nuclear cooperation. He was awarded the Israel Defense Prize in a secret ceremony. Blumberg faced criticism for favoritism toward friends and alleged personal benefits, though his modest lifestyle was noted; his ties to the Labor Party led to pressures after the 1977 Likud rise to power. He was fired in 1981 by Defense Minister Ariel Sharon amid criticism and succeeded by Rafi Eitan. After 1981, he served as Vice President of an electronics factory in Migdal Haemek until retirement in 1998. He lived modestly in a small Tel Aviv apartment until his death on August 28, 2018, and was buried in Magal.