Ethiopia will suffer severely from the loss of Israeli technical and military advisors since it broke diplomatic relations with Israel last month and the Ethiopian government is well aware of this, a senior Israeli advisor who was expelled from Addis Ababa told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today. He said there were 90 Israeli families In Ethiopia, some 500 persons, a relatively small number. But Israeli technicians and advisors held key positions in the army, the police, agriculture, health services and in the ports.
An Israeli colonel was in a staff position with the Ethiopian army, and another Israeli was in charge of geological surveys for Emperor Halle Selasie’s government, the advisor stated. He said the Ethiopians were very sorry to see the Israelis leave and did not try to conceal the fact that their country would suffer. The Emperor himself knew quite well what he was losing and that the Israelis may not want to return even after a Middle East settlement. But apparently he had no choice and broke with Israel under severe pressure from the Arabs. The pressure included a threat to cut off oil and to fan insurrection in Somaliland and Eritrea.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
