Premier Yitzhak Shamir said on his return from West Africa Sunday that he had raised the plight of Ethiopian Jews with the African leaders he met and urged them “to try to exert their influence on Ethiopia so that this problem will be resolved.” There are between 7,000-15,000 Jews remaining in Ethiopia in dire circumstances but unable to leave. Shamir said Israel is ready to solve the problem “in any possible way to put an end to this tragedy.” He said of his hosts, “I found considerable response among all of them. I spoke with heads of state, I asked them to intervene with the Ethiopian authorities. Whether and how far this will help, no one yet knows. We are trying.”
Shamir, who visited Togo, Cameroon and Liberia, said his trip “generated tremendous reverberations on the African continent” and “a number of African states which had not yet renewed relations with us are showing an interest and are acting in the most suitable manner to renew relations.”
The countries Shamir visited have restored diplomatic relations with Israel which they broke during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. So have Zaire and Ivory Coast. But 24 other Black African states still have no ties with Israel.
FINANCIAL INDUCEMENT DEMANDED
Maariv reported Sunday that Israel’s eagerness to make progress in negotiations with African countries to renew diplomatic ties, possibly during Shamir’s trip, prompted some of them to “raise their price.” Maariv quoted an expert on Africa who accompanied Shamir as saying that negotiations with certain African states “became a matter of bargaining and, in some cases, even extortion.”
According to Maariv reporters Tamar Golan and Rafael Mann, the expert was referring to Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Central African Republic. The President of Gabon was particularly blatant, demanding hefty monetary credit either directly from Israel or from Washington via Israel, in addition to the standard request for economic aid from Israel, they reported.
Avi Pazner, Shamir’s media adviser who accompanied him on the trip, hinted there was some truth to reports certain African governments were demanding financial inducements to restore diplomatic ties. The Foreign Ministry’s African experts were said to have warned against commitments Israel would not be able to fulfill, the Maariv correspondents said.
Shamir told reporters on his return that he has “no doubt that we will see further renewals of diplomatic relations in the wake of the visit.” He said, “In general, the heads of the African states are satisfied with their relations with Israel. They are grateful for everything we are doing for them. Naturally, they would like to see more aid, but they are well aware of Israel’s limitations and I also stressed these limitations: Israel is not an economic power.”
Shamir said he made clear that what Israel has to offer is “experience and proficiency and expertise in various areas….” which “we are ready to share with our friends in all sincerity and in all seriousness and with concern for their interests.”
The Premier conceded that “There are Arab pressures and there are negative reactions by the Soviets. But despite these pressures, I think that a number of countries have resolved to overcome and disregard these pressures and form ties with Israel.”
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