LAKAM (Hebrew: הלשכה לקשרי מדע, Ha-Lishka le-Kishrei Mada — Bureau for Scientific Relations) was Israel's deeply clandestine intelligence agency, established in 1957 as the 'Bureau for Special Tasks' under the Ministry of Defense and later renamed. It operated independently within the defense establishment until its dissolution in 1986 following the Jonathan Pollard espionage affair. Created as a spin-off to address security gaps in Israel's nuclear program—initially handled by Mossad and Aman (military intelligence)—LAKAM was deemed essential by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and Shimon Peres for absolute protection and advancement through scientific and technical espionage. Its primary responsibilities included: overseeing security at the Negev Nuclear Research Center (camouflaged as a textile factory); acquiring fissile materials via covert operations like the NUMEC affair (1965, where 91 kg of highly enriched uranium vanished from a U.S. facility) and Operation Plumbat (1968, a Mossad joint heist of 200 tons of uranium oxide in Europe); and conducting espionage under the guise of scientific attachés in embassies, especially in the U.S. and Europe, to procure restricted technology. Even Isser Harel, head of Israeli intelligence, was initially unaware of its existence. Benjamin Blumberg founded and led LAKAM until 1981, when he was succeeded by Rafi Eitan, who expanded its operations—sometimes competing with Mossad—and reported to Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, including unauthorized activities against the U.S. The agency's exposure came via the Pollard affair: after Mossad declined, LAKAM recruited U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard in 1985, leading to his arrest and a political scandal. Prime Minister Shimon Peres denied involvement, but an investigation prompted Israel's formal acceptance of responsibility in 1998.