Extolling 'friendship with ancient ties' with Israel, African lawmakers propose 'Queen of Sheba Accords'

More than 35 lawmakers representing 20 African countries convened in the first gathering of its kind: a summit in support of Israel. As a result of the meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a document was signed by participants declaring Israel’s right to the land and naming Jerusalem as its undivided capital.

The signing of the Addis Ababa Resolution came at the end of a two-day event in September that was co-hosted by the Israel Allies Foundation, the Africa-Israel Initiative and Thinc-Israel. 

Legislators from Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria and South Sudan, along with many others, gathered “to build on the Abraham Accords, and as children of Abraham pursue peace, progress and prosperity,” according to Erik Selle, founder of the Africa-Israel Initiative and leader of Norway’s Christian nationalist Conservative Party.

He added, “As African economies are growing, a mutually prosperous relationship between emerging nations and the Startup Nation of Israel will be significant for the people of Africa.”

Currently, 46 of Africa’s 54 countries have formal diplomatic ties with Israel, a number that Avraham Neguise, Israel’s newly appointed ambassador to Ethiopia, seeks to increase. According to Ynet News, Neguise founded the Africa-Israel Caucus while serving in the Knesset from 2015 to 2019 and championed Ethiopian aliyah notably through "Operation Rock of Israel," bringing over 3,100 Ethiopians to Israel last year. Following the establishment of the Africa-Israel Caucus, Prime Minister Netanyahu made the first official visit to Africa in 30 years.

In his new diplomatic role, Neguise is working to build bridges between Israel and Africa. He told the Media Line, “Africa needs Israel, and Israel needs Africa,” adding, “Israel, as the startup nation, is blessed by the knowledge of technology in different areas; agriculture, health, climate, cyber. Africa has fertile land and a growing population. My vision is the meeting between Israeli technology and African fertile soil to alleviate hunger and poverty.” 

Building strong relationships with African leaders could lead to support for Israel in the African Union, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the United Nations, according to Neguise, who said, “If African countries vote in our favor, this could be pivotal for Israel.” Indeed, this has already proven to be the case.

In Africa-Israel Weekly, Olga Meshoe Washington from the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel, recalled a time when the UN Security Council voted to create the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital on Dec. 31, 2014, a move that was thwarted by one of the three African nations represented on the UNSC at the time—Chad, Nigeria, and Rwanda. Against expectations, Nigeria abstained, along with Rwanda, denying those pushing for Palestinian statehood the nine votes they needed for the resolution to pass.

“The role of African states’ voting for, or against, or abstaining from resolutions targeting Israel in the UN has long been overlooked,” she said. The surprising results of the UN vote in 2014 were a “direct result of improved relations between those countries and Israel” according to Washington, who asserts that “Israel has in recent years sought to actively and, as a priority, reestablish and strengthen diplomatic, economic, cooperation, and security ties with African nations.”

While some African nations are hostile to Israel, most notably South Africa – which has been accused of “serving as the legal arm of the Hamas terrorist organization” by Israel – other nations have large Christian populations that support Israel due to their faith, says Neguise.

“The Ethiopian people are deeply connected to Israel because of the Bible. Ethiopia is mentioned more than 60 times in the Bible.”

Washington concurred, saying: “This is a friendship with ancient ties, dating back 3,000 years to the Queen of Sheba’s visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem.” 

Building on the recent visit of the African Queen to Israel, Knesset Member Sharren Haskel, who attended the September summit in Addis Ababa, proposed the idea of establishing new alliances with African nations under the name 'Queen of Sheba Accords,' drawing a parallel with the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab nations. During the summit, delegates discussed the possibility of relocating embassies to Jerusalem and issued strong statements condemning terrorism."

Those signing the resolution declared: “We condemn the ongoing threat to Israel’s existence by Iran and its proxy armies Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis … [w]e denounce the violence and terrorism against Israel perpetrated by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Fatah, including hostage-taking in violation of international law.”

Distancing themselves from actions taken by South Africa, delegates affirmed the statement: “We condemn the legal attacks on Israel at the UN, ICC, ICJ, and African Union that undermine negotiations and existing agreements”.

According to the New Arab, the Queen of Sheba Accords would unite Israel and African nations in such areas as economic cooperation, defense, security, intelligence sharing, and educational, religious and cultural collaboration.

The “Addis Ababa Declaration of Africa-Israel Cooperation and Partnership” was signed by lawmakers from three dozen African countries including Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia during the first of its kind Africa-Israel Parliamentary Summit held Sept. 10-11, 2024.