 Supporters of Israel's nuclear plan, headed by Ben-Gurion along with Shimon Peres and Ernst David Bergmann, acted behind the scenes to promote the program.Against them, Livneh and Leibowitz formed The Committee for Denuclearization of the Middle East.When Israel's nuclear activities were exposed in "The New York Times" in December 1960, he was joined by several members of the Nuclear Energy Committee, who resigned when Israel's cooperation with France made the Atomic project practical.