From Jerusalem to the Lion of Judah and Beyond: Israel’S Foreign Policy in East Africa

Copyright © 1977, 2011, 2012 by Steven Carol

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Contents

Tables

About The Author

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Preface

Note on Calendars

Note on Ethiopian Provinces

Chronology

Introduction

PART I

Motives

The Effect of the Sinai Campaign

The Israel-Ethiopia Link

The Israel-Kenya Link

The Israel-Uganda Link

The Israel-Tanzania Link

Joint Economic

Ventures and Trade

Technical Cooperation-General Overview

Agriculture

Youth and National Service Programs

Community Development and Social Welfare

Medicine and Health

Science and Technology

Labor and Labor Studies

Military Assistance-General Overview

Military Assistance to Ethiopia

Military Assistance to Kenya

Military Assistance to Uganda

Military Assistance to Tanzania

Soviet and Arab Criticism

The Six-Day War and Its Consequences

Shifting Policies of the 1970s

The Breaking of Relations

PART II

Historical Overview

of Ethiopia Since 1972

Historical Overview

of Kenya Since 1972

Historical Overview

of Uganda Since 1972

The Entebbe Affair

Uganda’s Continued Troubles

Historical Overview of

Tanzania Since 1972

The Years of Broken Relations

The Start of the Rescue

of the Beta Israel

Pragmatic Engagement

The Israel-Ethiopia

Connection Restored

The Final Rescue of

the Beta Israel

The Israel-Kenya

Connection Restored

The Israel-Uganda

Connection Restored

The Israel-Tanzania

Connection Restored

The Israel-Eritrea Connection

An Old/New Friend—South Sudan

Conclusion

Appendix 1 A

Appendix I B

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

Glossary

Endnotes

Bibliography

To Hadara for her encouragement, support and love through the years.

To Shelli and David, with love for them and their posterity.

Tables

Beta Israel Population

First Cooperation Agreements Between Israel and East Africa

Israeli Exports to East Africa by Selected Years, 1960–73

African Nations Which Severed Diplomatic Relations with Israel

East African Nations Which Severed Diplomatic Relations with Israel

Number of Israeli Experts Working in East Africa, 1973

Arrival of the Beta Israel to Sudanese Refugee Camps, 1984

Israeli Exports to East Africa, 1973–77

Israeli Imports from East Africa, 1973–77

East African Trainees in Israel, 1975–77

East African Vote on UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 Zionism is racism–November 10, 1975

Israeli Exports to East Africa, 1978–81

Israeli–Ethiopian Trade

Comparison of Rescue Airlifts/Sealifts to Israel

Ethiopian Immigration to Israel, 1948–2011

East African Vote on UN General Assembly Resolution 46/86–Repeal of the UNGA Zionism is racism Resolution, December 16, 1991

Israeli Exports to Kenya

Israeli Imports from Kenya

Nile Perch Exports to Israel, 1996–2001

East African, via Kenya, Visitors to Israel

Ugandan Exports to Israel

The Number of East African Children Treated by SACH, 1996–2007

East Africa Restoration of Diplomatic Relations with Israel

2007 Pew Global Attitudes Survey

About The Author

Dr. Steven Carol is a retired professor of history with specialties in United States History, United States Government, the World Wars of the twentieth century, the Cold War, and Modern Middle East History. He received his M.A. in History from Queens College and his Ph.D. in History and African Studies from St. John’s University, New York. In preparation for this book, Dr. Carol visited East Africa as well as Israel, the latter thirteen times. He conducted on-the-spot research and interviewed numerous officials as well as the average man-on-the-street in both East Africa and Israel.

Dr. Carol taught for nearly four decades on both the East Coast and in the Southwest, on all levels–junior and senior high school, college, university, post-graduate, and teacher education. He taught United States History, United States Government, Western Civilization, World History, International Relations, the Modern Middle East, World Geography, and Economics. He has been a consultant for both the New York State and Arizona State Departments of Education. Dr. Carol is a Middle East consultant for Salem Radio Network News, and Official Historian as well as Associate Producer of Middle East Radio Forum (www.middleeastradioforum.org).

He has written numerous articles about the Middle East, which have appeared in newspapers in the U.S. and Canada as well as on the worldwide web. Similarly, he has been a featured guest on numerous radio shows across the United States. He is the author of books, including Middle East Rules of Thumb; Encyclopedia of Days: Start the Day with History; articles, historically-themed songs, visual aids, and educational games. He currently continues to write, speak to groups and appear on radio.

Acknowledgements

In the preparation of this work, I have incurred numerous debts of gratitude. I am especially grateful to the Honorable David Ben-Gurion, the Honorable Menachem Begin, Dr. Joel Barromi, Colonel Muki Betser, Reuven Dafni, Itzhak Shelef, Aharon Ofri, Arye Oded, Bernard Avital and Arie Pyetan, for their insights, commentary and assistance.

To the Israel Ministry for Foreign Affairs, particularly the Division of International Cooperation; the Israel Ministry of Agriculture; the Israeli government Press Bureau; the Ethiopia Ministry of Information; the Kenya Ministry of Information and Broadcasting: the Hebrew University Library; and the Afro-Asian Institute for Labor Studies and Cooperation, I likewise express my debt and gratitude. I should also like to express my thanks to the numerous Israeli and African personnel in both Israel and East Africa who assisted me in providing the average citizen’s point of view.

Special thanks go to Tzvi and Yosefa for their generous assistance in helping make this work possible. So, too, my thanks to Michael Anbar for his suggestions and foreword to this book, and to Kobe Zohar for his technical editing assistance, as well as to William Wolf for his proof-reading. Lastly, I should like to acknowledge the assistance, encouragement and patience of my wife, Hadara. Without her most thorough proof reading of the manuscript, additional help, support, and love, this study could not have been completed.

Cover design by Steven Carol

Cover art work by Kurt Sweeney

Foreword

From the moment it was established, the State of Israel has been looking for political allies in the international community. One way to achieve this goal has been to offer technological and economic assistance to developing nations across the world. Four East African countries—Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania—were prime beneficiaries of this effort. Although the political benefits to Israel, of its aid program were partially disappointing, especially during the period from 1972 to the late 1980s when diplomatic relations were severed, Israel demonstrated its willingness to offer a far greater share of its limited resources to international assistance, than practically any other nation, large or small.

The story of those laudable activities of the Jewish State are little known even to post–World War II historians, not to speak of men and women on the street. This story is not only part of the history of Israel but also an important part of the histories of those East African states. Moreover, the experience gained in these programs of international aid can serve as a model for such activities worldwide.

Professor Steven Carol has undertaken the task to thoroughly study and document this segment of history. Professor Carol spent many years in collecting material for his meticulously researched work. He interviewed beneficiaries of this international aid, scores of experts who were involved in these programs, and political leaders in Israel and in the recipient countries. Professor Carol also reviewed hundreds of relevant documents. His comprehensive study, presented in this book, is based, therefore, on first hand information. This information will evidently be an invaluable resource for future historians. Moreover, any technical expert or politician involved in international aid is likely to learn from Israel’s experience, which is presented here by an impartial researcher rather than by government bureaucrats.

Professor Carol has followed and carefully analyzed those sixty plus years of history, thus being able to evaluate the long term effectiveness of those efforts—politically, technologically, economically, socially, and diplomatically. This retrospective analysis by a researcher who actively studied that subject for more than forty years is unique, making this book highly valuable.

This book is a historical resource and offers a relevant political analysis. It must, therefore, become an indispensable asset of every department of Mid-Eastern Studies, of every department of modern political science, and of every ministry of foreign affairs.

Michael Anbar, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus,

University at Buffalo

Author of Israel and its Future

Preface

The single overriding objective of Israel’s foreign policy has been to mobilize all the resources of diplomacy for its protection and preservation. From 1948 to 1950, Israel’s foreign policy was one of non-alignment. As such, Israel sought contact with the independent states of Asia, the geographic region to which it belongs. However, Israel was not able to establish diplomatic relations with many Asian countries. The Arab/Muslim states of Asia refused any diplomatic contact and many were in a state of war with the Jewish State. Although Israel had recognized the People’s Republic of China on January 8, 1950, China refused to reciprocate. India established relations at the consular level, but maintained a cool relationship due, in large part, to its multi-million Muslim minority. It was Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India, one of the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement, who yielded to hostile Arab/Muslim pressure to exclude Israel from the first gathering of independent Asian and African countries, despite the fact that it was an Asian nation.

That first all Asian–African Conference held at Bandung, Indonesia, from April 18 to 24, 1955, provided a diplomatic shock to Israel and showed the growing hostility on the part of the non-aligned world. Of the twenty-nine Asian and African participants* at the conference, only ten had some level of diplomatic relations with Israel. Of those, six countries had full relations—Burma (now Myanmar), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Japan, Liberia, the Philippines and Thailand. Four states—Ethiopia, India, Iran and Turkey—had low level consular contacts. One participant, Cyprus, was not yet an independent state. The remaining eighteen participants were Arab, Muslim, and Communist states or had no relations with Israel, whatsoever.

To improve its diplomatic standing and image, Israel adopted a policy of establishing friendly relations, greater identification and international alignment with as many emerging sub-Saharan African nations as possible. This policy began with the independence of Ghana on March 6, 1957, and was quite successful. This book describes one of the notable political achievements of the young state of Israel—developing a relationship with the nations of East Africa. To date no other work has covered this subject in depth. East Africa became the linchpin of this new Israeli policy. A major goal of this strategy was to establish both a presence and a positive image in East Africa. This was to be accomplished primarily through Israel’s foreign aid program. The purpose of drawing attention to Israel’s policy is to show that a complicated process—historic, political and socio–economic—was at work in organizing the Israeli effort.

The book is divided into two sections. Part I covers the period up to the break in Israeli–East African relations in 1972–73. The second section deals with the years of severed relations through the reestablishment of those diplomatic ties, to the current period. Three themes are followed to determine the pattern of development of Israeli relations toward East Africa. First, the historical past relating to this area is examined. Second, the reasons why Israeli–East African relations developed are ascertained. Third, the historical, political, and socio-economic policies and practices of Israel toward East Africa are critically analyzed. Each of these factors is explored in light of the Arab–Israeli Middle East conflict, the inter-East African problems of the African continent and the East–West Cold War struggle. As the major Israeli thrust in East Africa was in these fields, special emphasis is placed on the problems of Israeli exchange and training programs, technical cooperation, joint commercial ventures and trade and military assistance to East Africa. Personal interviews and trips to both Israel and East Africa were utilized in securing many specifics of that policy.

The Israeli policy towards East Africa was mutually beneficial until the early 1970s when political developments caused the break in relations between Israel and the East African states. Overall Israeli advisers and experts did a good job and acquired an excellent reputation. Yet it must not be forgotten that the East African states, just as Israel, had their own interests and acted upon them. Despite a period of broken relations, it is to Israel’s credit that the record of its bilateral dealings with these states led to a reestablishment of relations with all four East African states involved.

Israel went into East Africa to expand its diplomatic contacts and gain international recognition and respectability. At the same time, it tried to pierce through the hostile Arab circle around it. In all this Israel succeeded. Israel has been recognized and accepted by East Africa as a Jewish State, and a most helpful part of the world community.

As the twenty-first century began, the State of Israel was in jeopardy. Despite its tremendous economic growth and development, its ingathering of millions of Jewish refugees from the entire world, most recently from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, and India, and its regional military supremacy, Israel has been beset by enemies both foreign and domestic.

Castigated by its European friends as the number one world problem, ostracized and pilloried at the United Nations by an international organization dominated by autocratic, theocratic,* and dictatorial states, betrayed by the political left both world-wide and at home, Israel enters its seventh decade with its very existence in question.

It is therefore fitting for us to step back to an earlier time to review the achievements made by this fledgling state, its sovereignty newly reestablished, fresh from a war of independence in which one percent of its population died securing the freedom that it desired after an 1,875 year-long period of statelessness. It was at the start of this modern state’s history in 1948, that Israel, despite being in a state of constant war—militarily, politically, economically, diplomatically, and psychologically—extended its hand of friendship and cooperation to a remote section of the African continent, those non-hostile states of the Horn of Africa and East Africa.

How could the State of Israel conduct such a foreign policy of assistance? It was pressed by the burden of the in-gathering of exiles, including some 880,000 Jews from Arab states. Additionally, it was struggling to maintain its national journey forward, all the while combating an Arab League, first of seven states, later of twenty-one, intent on its destruction and elimination from the map of the world. This is that story. It should remind all that Israel can achieve great things when there is a national will to do so. That lesson is well worth recalling and acting upon today.

Steven Carol

April 2012

Note on Calendars

All dates in the chronologies and the body of the book are given in the calendar traditionally referring to events before the birth of Jesus (

b.c.

) and continuing after his birth (

a.d.

), and now universally adopted and known to scholars as Before the Common Era (

b.c.e.

) and the Common Era (

c.e.

).

Note on Ethiopian Provinces

Until 1995, Ethiopia was subdivided into thirteen provinces. Eritrea was a province until 1993. Events are described using contemporary provinces’ names.

Chronology