Samson Option

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

In reference to Samson in the Bible, who destroyed the Philistine temple in which he was captured in a suicide attack.

Proper noun

the Samson Option (usually uncountable, plural Samson Options)

  1. A last-resort strategy employed by the State of Israel involving massive nuclear retaliation within and outside of the State of Israel.
    • 2009 June 7, Filipe, CNN‎[1], archived from the original on 1 February 2023:
      The Samson Option states that Moshe Dayan gave the go-ahead for starting weapon production in early 1968, putting the plutonium separation plant into full operation.
  2. (figuratively, by extension) Any massively destructive strategy used as a last resort, especially one that is also self-destructive.
    • 1992, Paul C. Warnke, “Reviews: Nuclear Israel”, in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists‎[2], volume 48, number 2, page 42:
      Whatever the eventual shape of the new world order, it should leave no room for "Samson options."
    • 2009 March 27, Mr.Smartypants, “Usuary (sic) of the Zionists”, in can.politics‎[3] (Usenet):
      This is the essence of the beast and the lever of control. You don’t need hidden nukes or Samson options. This is what is happening and this is why the bank bailouts are taking place to ensure a greater consolidation and control of the destiny of planet Earth.
    • 2020 December 29, Frida Ghitis, “Trump has set Republicans up to fail in Georgia”, in CNN‎[4], Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 3 October 2022:
      Trump’s fiercest advocates have launched their Samson option: If he can’t keep power, they’ll bring down the party with him by calling for a boycott of the election.

Translations

Further reading

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