http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2c4123a8-ef59-11e5-9f20-c3a047354386.html#axzz44TggROPS
Israel looks to Africa for new allies
John Reed in Jerusalem
When Israel faced a resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency last September demanding that it open its undeclared nuclear facilities to UN inspectors, the measure failed to pass. It foundered in part because several African countries — which normally would have voted in lock-step with Arab states — abstained or voted No.
The ballot was just one of many examples of a growing alignment between Israel and sub-Saharan African states: the Jewish state is searching for new allies as its traditionally close ties with Europe cool, and both it and African states face a common threat from radical Islamist groups.
Benjamin Netanyahu is planning a high-profile tour of four east African countries in July — the first to the continent by an Israeli leader in more than two decades. He will begin the visit with a ceremony in Entebbe, Uganda marking the 40th anniversary of the hostage rescue in which his brother Yonatan died. He will then travel to Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia.
“Israel is coming back to Africa; Africa is coming back to Israel,” Mr Netanyahu said at a recent meeting in the Knesset with Israeli MPs and African ambassadors. “It’s happening in a big way.”
Under perennial criticism at the UN by the EU over its illegal settlements on Palestinian lands, Israel is searching for new partners. Apart from Africa, Israel is also strengthening its diplomatic and economic ties with China, India and other developing countries.
Israeli officials speak of building a “wall of friendly countries” along a band of Africa that stretches from the Ivory Coast, Togo and Cameroon in the west to Rwanda and Kenya in the east.
“We have today a group of countries that are willing to vote with us, and the trend is growing,” says Yoram Elron, deputy director-general in Israel’s foreign ministry, responsible for relations with Africa. “This is one reason why Africa is growing in importance for us.”
African leaders have been queueing to visit Israel after decades of keeping their distance.
Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenyan president, was in Israel in February, the first visit by a Kenyan leader since 1994. Hanna Tetteh, Ghana’s foreign affairs minister, was in the country this month and discussed, according to an Israeli government communique, deepening economic and security co-operation, “especially the fight against Islamist terrorism”.
During Ms Tetteh’s visit, Mr Netanyahu also expressed “Israel’s expectation of continued change in voting patterns at the UN in light of anti-Israel decisions in international bodies”.
African countries want Israeli know-how in defence, cyber security and homeland security at a time when Libya is collapsing and Islamist fighters from Boko Haram to al-Shabaab are on the attack.
Israel has also reached agreement with two unnamed African countries on the voluntary repatriation of some of the 40,000 migrants and refugees from Sudan and Eritrea who crossed into the country from Egypt.
Refugee advocates say the two countries are Rwanda and Uganda, and believe that the states received Israeli arms or defence expertise in exchange.
“There has to be a quid pro quo,” says Jean-Marc Liling, a Jerusalem-based lawyer specialising in refugee law. “Why would an African country that is much poorer than Israel and has plenty of their own problems take in African refugees not from their own countries?”
Israel’s foreign and defence ministries declined to elaborate on the country’s defence deals with African countries when asked by the Financial Times.
For Israel, the relationships are coloured in part by regional rivalry. Israeli officials note that Iran, too, is expanding its diplomatic presence on the continent. Israelis have voiced concern about Shia militant group Hizbollah, which they believe is active in parts of west Africa’s Lebanese diaspora community.
Israel’s relations with South Africa, the continent’s second-largest economy and home to its largest Jewish community, remain strained. The ruling African National Congress has strong ties with the Palestinians and compares the Israeli government to the white apartheid regime. The “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” movement is modelled on the international anti-apartheid movement and has a strong foothold in the country.
However, there are signs of a thaw. Dore Gold, director-general in the Israeli foreign ministry, travelled to South Africa this month in the first high-level visit in several years, meeting with officials and visiting Nelson Mandela’s Soweto home.
“To say we are about to have a completely different relationship is premature,” Mr Gold told the Times of Israel. “But there was a readiness to hear our arguments”.
Received on Thu Mar 31 2016 - 07:18:36 EDT