In Solidarity with Palestine

By Samir  ABI

As citizens of one of the few African countries that unfailingly supports the State of Israel, often contrary to international opinion denouncing the injustices inflicted on the Palestinian people, it is up to us to make our voices heard on this thorny subject, no matter how faint.  The purpose of this exercise in citizenship is to explain how support for the State of Israel impacts the African people, including the Togolese people.  Although primarily an individual exercice, other African citizens whose government’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not open to debate could also make it their own.

Israel-Africa:  Cooperation that benefits the ruling classes

In terms of development support, the Israeli international cooperation agency, MASHAV, is certainly not the most visible of foreign cooperation agencies in Africa.  Irrespective of whether a country supports Israel at the UN or not, MASHAV’s actions mainly consist in training about agricultural techniques, agro-business projects and study grants in Israel promoting the “Israeli agricultural miracle” which is based on a drip-feed irrigation model and arid land management.  However, it is security that remains Israel’s key cooperation sector in Africa.  (suite…)