Israel Matzav

Zambian Presidential candidate would restore relations with Israel

Zambian Presidential candidate Saviour Chisimba would restore relations with Israel to their pre-1973 status, and stop selling uranium to Iran.

Said Chishimba over a cup of hot tea with fresh mint in a Tel Aviv restaurant earlier this month: “The current leadership stands for outdated politics. It’s time to form international contacts with bodies and leaders who have a broader understanding of business and democracy. Like parliamentarians in the UK and business leaders in the U.S., I want to form different types of networks and get away from the old ways of thinking.”

What Chishimba specifically means is that he will weaken ties with Iran, and specifically Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. This currently prompt eyebrow-raising over the African country’s covert uranium trade.

“A pro-Iran, anti-Israel regime in Zambia is very dangerous,” Chishimba remarked. “Iran is determined to wipe Israel off the map and that can only be done with nuclear capability. Facilitating transport of uranium to Iran is very, very dangerous.” Despite a 2008 law implemented to control uranium mining and export, Zambia continues doing business with Iran.

Sitting at the presidential hopeful’s Tel Aviv table was another not-new-to-politics figure, media advisor to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Dr. Raanan Gissin. Gissin was offering Chishimba pointers on successful campaigning and wooing influential backers ahead of the African’s impending European and U.S. visits this spring. Chishimba plans to meet parliament members, prominent CEOs, and President Obama on his visits.

Is Israel, then, a segway to the American Jewish lobby and U.S. campaign backing?

Says Chishimba: “I have always said Israel has a presence in Africa. This is not a strategy to get American influence. The relationship between Zambia and Israel started in 1900, when the first Jewish family settled there. Jews fought alongside freedom fighters for independence, and from 1964 to 1973, Israelis helped build the country’s largest university and the only medical teaching hospital.”

The irony in all this is that for as long as I can remember, the working assumption in Israel has been that relations with countries in Africa and the Islamic world could only come after there is a 'Palestinian state' or one appears to be on the way. Wouldn't it be nice if Zambia starts a different trend?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:40 PM