The
Necessity of Strategic Vision in the Ethiopian
Israeli Relations
Ghelawdewos
Araia, PhD
July 9, 2016
Strategic
vision entails a long-term comprehensive plan and
its objective is essentially to promote the
interests of a country without making worse-off
the other country that is involved in the
partnership discourse. The latter concept or
policy is facilitated and translated into action
via diplomacy, a fine vehicle that manages
international relations. Incidentally, Ethiopians
are astute diplomats and suffice to read the
letter exchanges of Emperors Yohannes and Menelik
with foreign heads of states and dignitaries in
the late 19th century and early 20th
century, not to mention the clever diplomatic
ventures of Emperor Haile Selassie. The legacy of
these leaders is still visible amongst present
Ethiopian diplomats.
Diplomacy
among nations implies good relations that could
potentially bring about constructive engagement
between the representatives of two or more nations
in bilateral and multilateral memorandum of
understanding/agreement, as well as negotiations
and exchanges of information and intelligence; and
it is mostly accompanied by conventions and
contracts (equal relationship) as opposed to
coercion and imposition (unequal relationship).
Our interest in this essay is to underscore
conventions and contracts (sometimes grossly
defined as cooperation) in the new
Israeli-Ethiopian relations, but before I delve
into the policy matrix in the context of the two
countries relations, I will first briefly present
a bird’s eye view of the history of diplomacy
between Ethiopia and Israel and then proceed by
first examining what cooperation is all about.
Israel
and Ethiopia first established diplomatic
relations in 1956, but then Ethiopia was extremely
cautious and maintained a low profile in the
relationship of the two countries because it
carefully weighed the complicated Middle East
politics, the question of Palestine, and the
interests of some Arab-speaking African countries
like Egypt, and other Arab countries’ reaction.
The diplomatic relations between the two
countries, however, continued until 1973 when
twenty African countries, including Ethiopia
severed diplomatic ties with Israel following the
Yom Kippur Egypt-Israel conflict and the
occupation of Sinai (Egyptian territory) by Israel
after the Israel-Arab wars in 1967.
For
sixteen years after the Yom Kippur conflict,
Ethiopia had no diplomatic relations with Israel
until it was revived in 1989 and formally
re-established again in 1992. Nevertheless, even
before the restoration of diplomacy between the
two countries, the Israelis were physically
present in Ethiopia and were engaged in military
training. For instance, in 1983 and 1984, the
Israelis trained Ethiopian marine commando forces
and presidential guards. They also trained
counterinsurgency units for the Derg’s Division
Five, popularly known as Nebelbal; long before the
training of Nebelbal, however, the Israelis had
also trained counterinsurgency forces at Dekemhara,
Eritrea during the reign of Emperor Haile Sealssie
for the sole purpose of containing guerrilla wars
and/or altogether defeating the Eritrean
combatants. For all the training the Israelis
accomplished in Ethiopia, especially during the
Derg rule, they were rewarded by Ethiopia’s
green light to conduct Operation Moses and
Operation Solomon in 1984/85 and 1991 respectively
and managed to resettle the Bethe-Israel
(Ethiopian Jews) from Ethiopia to Israel.
Four
years before the current official visit of
Benjamin Netanyahu to Ethiopia, an Ethiopian-born
Bethe-Israel (also known as black Jews or Falasha),
Belainesh Zevadia, was appointed as Israel’s
ambassador to Ethiopia. Belainesh came back to her
original homeland in order to cement relationship
between Ethiopia and Israel and also perhaps to
pave a way for PM Netanyahu’s diplomatic
endeavors in Ethiopia. Moreover, Ambassador
Belainesh is endowed with a unique belongingness
to both Ethiopia and Israel and that by itself
symbolically represents a special relationship
between the two countries.
With
the above backdrop of the Ethiopian-Israeli
diplomatic history, it is now important to discuss
strategic vision in the partnership context that
Ethiopia must pursue in order to promote its
national interest without making Israel worse-off
and vice versa. The kernel of this strategic
vision, as indicated earlier, is cooperation
embedded in partnership of the two countries. What
does cooperation mean with respect to diplomatic
relations?
Cooperation
anticipates harmony and/or mutual interests
(benefits), but it is a little tricky and
complicated. Cooperation cannot simply be attained
by a joint wish or eagerness of the parties
involved; it requires rather a methodical
examination of the psychological makeup and
political culture of the diplomats on either side,
and as a matter of course, both sides ought to
have a refined policy coordination that, in turn,
would determine the outcome of the agreements
signed by the two countries.
The
complex interdependence between Ethiopia and
Israel that I have alluded to above boils down to
a reciprocal relationship; and if this reciprocity
is sustained, it would consistently and constantly
exhibit what I like to call ‘Pareto-improving’
(after Vilfredo Pareto), a term designated by
political scientists to explain equity in a
relationship between organizations, companies,
nations etc. Pareto-improving, thus, would enhance
the relations of Ethiopia and Israel on an equal
footing.
Now, in
practical terms, how are the good relations of
Ethiopia and Israel manifested? The simple answer
to this question is reflected in Israel’s
endorsement of Ethiopia to become a non-permanent
member of the UN Security Council, and
Ethiopia’s support of Israel’s request for an
observatory status at the African Union. Also in
practical terms, how do the two countries mutually
benefit? Put otherwise, what is Israel going to
offer to Ethiopia and what will Ethiopia provide
to Israel?
By all
counts, Israel is a very small country (with an
area of 20,770 sq. km and a population of 8.5
million) and most of its land is arid. By
contrast, Ethiopia is a relatively large country
with an area of 1.1 million sq. km and a
population in excess of 90 million and most of its
land is arable and fertile. On the other hand,
while Ethiopia is blessed with waters and
perennial major rivers, Israel has none of these.
The paradox, however, is while Ethiopia has just
begun managing its waters and the efforts made at
controlling its rivers is at its infancy, Israel
is a leader in water technology. It is ironic that
Israel, a country known for scarcity of water,
boasts $2 billion revenue annually via its water
technology.
Other
facts and figures that can determine the strategic
vision of the two countries is the level or degree
of their economic and technological development.
While the GDP of Israel in terms of purchasing
power parity (PPP) is $292 billion, that of
Ethiopia is $62 billion, and given the population
of the two countries, the per capita income of
Israel becomes much larger than that of Ethiopia.
Ultimately,
Israel will offer Ethiopia its knowledge and
specialty in bio and space science, as well as
nanotechnology, not to mention water technology
that was noted above. Nanotechnology is advanced
interdisciplinary in science, technology, and
engineering; it is the manipulation of individual
atoms and molecules that could also be applied in
agriculture and medicine. This is going to be a
great Israeli offer to Ethiopia.
Ethiopia
could also make great offers to Israel, especially
in agricultural products. Israel’s agribusiness
companies can either invest in Ethiopia’s vast
agricultural potential or purchase Ethiopia’s
agricultural produce such as barley, wheat,
coffee, sesame, and a variety of legumes. In the
long haul (hence the necessity of strategic
vision), Ethiopia could offer industrial products,
that are now on the rise; and mining products that
have yet to be exploited.
On the
diplomatic front, Ethiopia’s offer could be
greater in relative terms than that of Israel.
Ethiopia has good relations with its neighbors and
excellent diplomatic ties with other African
countries and the world community. Ethiopia had
established diplomatic relations with the United
States and the United Kingdom over a century ago
and with Japan since 1930; Ethiopia was also a
member of the League of Nations and a founding
member of the United Nations; that is, long before
Israel was founded, Ethiopia was a member of these
international organizations. In many respects,
Ethiopia is a master teacher of diplomacy in the
African continent.
By contrast, Israel has no friends in its
vicinity and in order to have good relations with
African countries and promote its interests, its
best bet would be to use Ethiopia’s good offices
and inter-linkage with African countries and enjoy
the floors of the AU, which can be facilitated by
Ethiopia.
On the
knowledge-based economy and education front,
Israel’s offer to Ethiopia is going to be
greater because Israel has the best universities
and higher institutions of learning like Hebrew
University, Weizmann Institute of Science, and
Israel Institute of Technology (Technion).
Ethiopia also has fine universities and colleges
like Addis Ababa University, the oldest and
leading comprehensive university, known for its
social sciences, international relations,
development studies, and science and technology;
Adama University for science and technology; Arba
Minch University for water technology and
environmental protection; Haramaya University for
agriculture and veterinary science; and Mekelle
University, a comprehensive university known
especially for arid-zone agriculture and Seed
Safety through Diversity. These are some of the
thirty plus universities of Ethiopia that can
establish partnership with the Israeli
universities. Of all the Ethiopian universities,
however, it is Hawassa University that has now
played an exemplar role in establishing
partnerships with multiple universities worldwide,
some of which are the Norwegian University of Life
Science, the Swedish University of Agricultural
Science, the University College Cork of Ireland,
the University of Leeds (UK), and the German
Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) etc.
Ethiopia
will benefit enormously by creating partnership
with the Israeli universities and institutions,
but as stated above, since it has its own
universities it is not going to be a mere
recipient of aid and knowledge as in the olden
days. Ethiopia, of course, should exploit the
enormous intellectual potential of the Ethiopian
Diaspora, an idea that I have proposed many times
in the past, and the latter should not be
undermined by a reticent and selective campaign to
attract the Diaspora. Ethiopia should also make a
transition from a cadre-type management to a
professional long-term plan in engaging Ethiopian
intellectuals and professionals in various fields,
and this by itself requires a well thought out
strategic vision.
Finally,
it is of paramount importance that Ethiopia and
Israel operate hand-in-glove in the areas of
security and intelligence to ward off terrorism
and ensure peace and stability in their respective
regions. Ethiopia has its own internal problems
but compared to its neighbors, it is relatively
stable and did very well in thwarting terrorist
attacks and for this reason and its foundational
economy, it has become one investor friendly
country in Africa. Israel can further reinforce
Ethiopia’s security endeavors by involving its
Military Intelligence Directorate (Aman) along
with Mossad and Shabak (counterterrorism and
protective security department).
All
Rights Reserved. Copyright © Institute of
Development and Education for Africa (IDEA) 2016;
Dr. Ghelawdewos Araia can be contacted for educational and constructive feedback via dr.garaia@africanidea.org
|