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The Future of Relations with Mauritania After the Attack on the Israeli Embassy

[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs-Hebrew] Freddy Eytan - The shooting attack on the Israeli Embassy in Mauritania should serve as a warning to Jerusalem. Mauritania, a member of the Arab League and a country fifty times larger than Israel, opened full diplomatic relations with Israel in October 1999 after great Israeli efforts. A poor country receiving no Arab support, Mauritania hoped to receive greater Israeli assistance to develop the country. Assistance was offered primarily in agriculture and medicine. In 1998, thousands were treated by Israeli doctors, but since then, many Israeli promises have gone unfulfilled. Jewish values require us to help people in need, and how much more so for an entire country. We succeeded in changing a hostile Muslim Arab state into a friend, but that could change back if there are no obvious benefits to be seen by the local population, as opposition voices continue to warn of the "Zionist enemy." An Israeli diplomatic failure in Mauritania would also deter other states such as Morocco and Tunisia from renewing relations with us. Israel must fulfill its promises and strengthen bilateral relations through significant confidence-building measures. Otherwise, there is no point in Israel supporting an entire embassy in a distant land, and endangering the lives of its diplomats, if we fail to do our part to protect our interests in that part of the world. The writer was Israel's first ambassador to Mauritania.
2008-02-04 01:00:00
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