Israeli Investment In Ethiopia

Sarah Fefer

News about Israel’s occupation in Palestine has generated significant amounts of criticism. However, certain methods Israel uses to maintain their power, specifically their significant investments into parts of Sub-Saharan Africa has received little to no media coverage. This article will be examining the implications of Israel's investments into parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Israel's effort in Africa, which Netanyahu called a "priority" during a 2017 security conference in Liberia, capitalizes on rising regional economic expectations and the resulting reliance on foreign direct investment. Israeli officials signed a memorandum of understanding with the Economic Community of West African States in 2017 to spend $1 billion by 2021 in green energy and power projects throughout Sub Saharan Africa. Israel's commitment to Africa is not limited to the governmental sector. Agricultural projects that give water-efficient seedlings to subsistence farmers and aid collaborations are examples of private sector engagements. For Israel's modern defense technologies, Sub-Saharan Africa is also a promising market, considering extremist groups like Boko Haram and ISIS-affiliated groups have raised the demand for security solutions.

It is also crucial to assess the impact these expenditures will have on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The African continent provides Israel with an essential strategic landscape to assist its internal and diplomatic objectives, with 54 internationally recognized governments. According to Netanyahu, Israel is primarily targeted in the United Nations by an "automatic majority" of "African countries" (UN). As a result, one of the objectives of strengthening connections with these countries is to "change their voting patterns" on topics concerning Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As Israel's UN friends have diminished, Jerusalem has begun to construct a "wall of friendly countries" stretching from the Ivory Coast in the west to Kenya in the east. "We have today a group of countries that are willing to vote with us, and the trend is growing," Yoram Elron, Israel's foreign ministry's head of Africa relations, told the Financial Times. “This is one reason why Africa is growing in importance for us.”

Image Source:

Sebastiane Ebatamehi https://www.africanexponent.com/post/10609-egypt-questions-israels-decision-to-mount-missile-defense-over-ethiopian-dam-project

Information Sources:

"Israel Seeks New Inroads On The African Continent". Middle East Institute, 2021, https://www.mei.edu/publications/israel-seeks-new-inroads-african-continent.

"Israeli Tech Companies Should Treat South Africa As A Springboard To Whole Continent Says Trade Attaché". CTECH - www.calcalistech.com, 2021, https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3835210,00.html.

Dahir, Abdi. "Israel Is Making A Strong Play For Africa—But It's About More Than Just Geopolitics". Quartz, 2021, https://qz.com/africa/1152285/israels-foray-into-africa-is-driven-by-economic-interests-as-much-as-geopolitics/.