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Reenergizing the Israel-Africa Strategic Partnership

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Dr. Yechiel M. Leiter - On November 23, 2022, Dr. Yechiel M. Leiter, Director-General of the Jerusalem Center, addressed a regional conference at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia on national security challenges in the Horn of Africa. Since the advent of Zionism and the birth of modern Israel, there has been a strong ideological connection between Israel and the African continent. The fruitful existence of a strategic partnership between Ethiopia and Israel goes back at least as far as King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Israel contributes to "world order" by opposing hostile states and their proxies with intelligence-gathering and sharing, military knowhow, and, when necessary, military action, and by contributing to economic growth and human development through advanced technologies in agriculture, medicine, R&D, and social and cultural cohesiveness. There are many places where our interests converge. One such area involves the safety of waterways in and around the Red Sea. Curtailing contraband, drugs, arms smuggling, and other forms of serious corruption are all vital for us. One critical area of cooperation I'd like to put the spotlight on is in the realm of food security. We should conceptually move food security from the social and economic realm to the realm of national security. National security includes the ability to feed the people of one's sovereign territory. Imagine Ethiopia's cows producing 30 or 40 liters of milk a day instead of the 2 or 3 that they produce today. Imagine the establishment of an agriculture industry that grows alternatives to wheat. Imagine a fish industry based on fish pond production. Israel has proven technology in these and other agro-areas, and we're neighbors.
2022-11-28 00:00:00
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