Israel–Namibia relations

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Israel - Namibia relations
Map indicating locations of Israel and Namibia

Israel
Namibia

Israel–Namibia relations refers to the

honorary consul, Gil Dankner, based in Atlit, Haifa.[1]

History

Prior to Namibian independence, Israel's policy towards Namibia was that of official silence. A number of high-profile Israeli leaders visited the then occupied territory. Members of the South African administration of Namibia also visited Israel.[2]

Namibia gained independence in 1990 and the two governments opened bilateral relations in 1994.

In January 2008, Prime Minister of Namibia Nahas Angula received a fax that claimed to be from the United States House of Representatives. It asked Namibia to vote more favorably for Israel at the United Nations. The United States embassy in Namibia would neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of the letter.[3]

In January 2009, during the

Gaza War, Namibia condemned Israel, saying, "This naked aggression and disproportionate use of force by Israel is unfortunate and only leads to further escalation of violence".[4] Namibia does recognise the State of Palestine.[5]

Economic relations

Israeli companies are heavily invested in Namibia's diamond industry. In 2004,

Foreign Direct Investment.[7]

In January 2008, a chartered

Cessna 210 crashed shortly after departing from an airport in Windhoek. The plane, heading to Etosha National Park, killed five Israelis and four Namibians. The Israelis were expatriates working in the diamond industry heading to Etosha for a holiday break, while the Namibians were members of the crew flying the group.[3][8]

Criticism of relations

Some organizations in Namibia called for an end to relations with Israel due to the

2008–09 Gaza War, opposition parties SWANU and the Namibian Democratic Movement for Change called for the severing of relations.[10]

A number of op-ed's were written criticizing Israel and Namibia's relationship with it. In January 2008, Alexactus Kaure, a Namibian academic and writer, wrote an op-ed piece published in the state-run

apartheid South Africa.[11] A year later during the Gaza War, Herbert Jauch, head of research and education at Namibia's Labour Resource and Research Institute published an op-ed in the New Era calling Israel's actions "...an act of cold-blooded murder and a crime against humanity", while calling for the international isolation of Israel.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ "2BackToHomePage3". mfa.gov.il.
  2. ^ a b The Israeli connection: who Israel arms and why by Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, 1981, page 146 in Google Books
  3. ^ a b Letter from US Congress raises some eyebrows The Namibian, 23 December 2008
  4. ^ "Nam breaks Gaza silence". The Namibian. 8 January 2009.
  5. ^ "Namibia/Palestine sign agriculture MoU". New Era. 2 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013.
  6. ^ Kaure, Alexactus (23 July 2004). "How Namibia Supports Israel's Palestine Occupation". The Namibian.
  7. ^ Katswara, Tonderai (11 April 2005). "Pohamba tours LLD Diamonds". The Namibian.
  8. ^ Israeli delegations land in Namibia to identify plane crash victims Haaretz, 14 January 2008
  9. ^ "IMPOSE SANCTIONS AGAINST ISRAEL :: Namibia's National Human Rights Organisation". Archived from the original on 2010-11-16. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  10. ^ Swanu, NMDC condemn Gaza incursion The Namibian, 6 January 2009
  11. ^ Namibia's Ties with Israel Governed by Real Politic New Era, 29 January 2008
  12. ^ Time to End Israel's Oppression of Palestinians New Era, 22 January 2009
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