All opinions expressed are those of the writer.
When Israel’s international relationships become the subject of focus, many tend to underestimate one critical relationship in particular: Israel’s unique connection with Africa. What’s interesting is that this relationship tends to be overlooked by Western audiences, likely due to how negatively both Israel and Africa are depicted in mainstream media. But, despite their classification as two of the most misunderstood and misrepresented regions in the world, Africa and Israel have much more in common than meets the eye.
Israel has an ancient connection to Africa that dates back approximately 3,000 years. For instance, it has been reported that Moses’ name and story—including how God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage—is one of legend and common knowledge throughout the continent of Africa.
According to the Old Testament, Moses was admonished by his siblings, Aaron and Miriam, for marrying a Cushite woman (Numbers 12:1-10). When the land of Cush is mentioned in Scripture, it is an ancient reference to Africa.
In the book of 1 Kings, God elevated the wisdom and stature of King Solomon to great heights, and he became a renowned figure beyond the Middle East. His divine reputation and fame managed to reach Africa, and more notably, the ears of the Queen of Sheba in Ethiopia. She became so intrigued about the greatness of King Solomon and his wisdom that she traveled to Jerusalem herself to test him with hard questions, in order to see if he truly matched the astonishing descriptions she had heard.
This must have been a fascinating meeting that took place in the Old Testament for two reasons: First, the Queen of Sheba traveling from Ethiopia to Jerusalem with gifts to meet with King Solomon paints a symbolic picture of the bridge of cultural engagement being built at the time between Africa and Israel. Secondly, because the Queen of Sheba’s motive was to test King Solomon’s wisdom, it is interesting to wonder just what kind of questions she specifically had for him, and the dialogue that was exchanged between them. Scripture doesn’t provide any detail regarding the conversation they held, only that King Solomon’s wisdom and the splendor of his kingdom far surpassed the Ethiopian queen’s skepticisms.
Another Biblical example of Africa’s ancient relationship with Israel is the encounter between Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch in the New Testament. The eunuch was a wealthy high court official of Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians. He was returning to Ethiopia from Jerusalem when the spirit of the Lord told Philip to go and speak with him. With Philip’s help, the eunuch believed in Jesus, converted to Christianity, was immediately baptized, and then returned rejoicing to Ethiopia to share the good news in Acts 8:26-40.
Israel and Africa’s shared history of diplomatic and innovative relationships was mutually beneficial. In the years following Israel’s independence as a nation in 1948, many African countries were also becoming independent from colonization. Israel was just rising from the ashes after successfully defeating five Arab armies who invaded them at the dawn of their independence. The Jewish state was surrounded by enemies; thus, Israel knew that it needed quality allies, who would also benefit from their success.
Naomi Chazan, expert in African-Israeli relations in Jerusalem stated, “From an Israeli perspective, there was something really exciting in forging links with new countries which had to engage in the process of state-building and nation-building” [1]. It was Israel’s former prime minister, Golda Meir, who enforced a diplomatic responsibility to reach developing African countries. Chazan also stated that Israel was very moved by the struggles that developing African countries all throughout the continent were facing.
During the latter half of the 20th century, Israel began supporting newly independent African states by recognizing Ghana’s independence and establishing its embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. The state also created Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MASHAV), a humanitarian agency devoted to international development cooperation with developing African countries. In summer 2016, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, attended a counterterrorism summit in Uganda, where he met with seven African heads of state representing Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia. This summit jumpstarted greater opportunities for deeper cooperation between Israel and the African continent through shared economic, agricultural, and technological innovations. Netanyahu expressed his confidence in a promising and bright future for the Israel-Africa relationship, highlighting that “Israel is coming back to Africa; Africa is coming back to Israel”[2].
Learn more about the relationship between Israel and Africa:
A history of Africa-Israel relations (dw.com)
Netanyahu meets with seven African leaders to enhance cooperation (ynetnews.com)