South African intelligence dismisses a tour of African
countries by the Israeli Foreign Minister in 2009 as "an exercise in
cynicism."
It says Avigdor Lieberman's nine-day trip to Ethiopia,
Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda and Kenya laid the groundwork for arms deals and the
appropriation of African resources, while hiding behind "a philanthropic
façade". South African intelligence analysts took a jaundiced view of the
exercise. "While Liberman [sic] talked with African leaders about hunger,
water shortage, malnutrition and plagues afflicting their nations," they
wrote, "Tel Aviv's promises to African states could be seen as the gloss
on an exercise in cynicism." The South African document said
"Israel's military, security, economic and political tentacles have
reached every part of Africa behind a philanthropic facade".
Israel has long maintained ties with African countries based
on its own security and diplomatic needs. Its ties with the old apartheid
regime in South Africa were strongly based on military needs, and reportedly
included cooperation in the development of nuclear weapons.
Israeli media hailed Israel's deepening ties with President
Goodluck Jonathan for putting an end to a December 30 UN Security Council
resolution setting a timetable for Israeli withdrawal from occupied Palestinian
territories. Nigeria had signaled it would support the Palestinian-backed
resolution, but its switch to an abstention denied the resolution the necessary
majority in the Council.
South Africa's "Geopolitical Country and Intelligence
Assessment" of October 2009 accused Israel of pursuing "destructive
policies" in Africa that include:
Compromising Egypt's water security : Israeli scientists,
the report claimed, "created a type
of plant that flourishes on the surface or the banks of the Nile and that
absorbs such large quantities of water as to significantly reduce the volume of
water that reaches Egypt." The report offers no additional evidence for
this claim.
Fueling insurrection in Sudan: Israel is "working
assiduously to encircle and isolate Sudan from the outside," the
report wrote, "and to fuel
insurrection inside Sudan." Mossad agents have also "set up a
communications system which serves to both eavesdrop on and secure the security
of presidential telecommunications." Israel had long been at loggerheads
with Khartoum, and supported the secessionist movement that eventually broke
away and created South Sudan, with which it has diplomatic ties. Khartoum
continues to accuse the Israelis of being responsible for attacks in Sudan.
Co-opting Kenyan intelligence: "As part of Mossad's
safari in Central Africa it had exposed to the Kenyans the activities of other
foreign spy networks". In return, the report wrote, Kenya granted
permission for a safe house in Nairobi and gave "ready access to Kenya's
intelligence service".
Arms proliferation : Israel has been "instrumental in
arming some African regimes and allegedly aggravating crises among others,
including Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea and South Africa", according to the
document. Today it "is looking for new markets for its range of
lightweight weapons" and covertly supplies armaments to "selected
countries inter alia India" including "nuclear, chemical, laser and
conventional warfare technologies".
Acquiring African mineral wealth : Israel "plans to
appropriate African diamonds", the South African spies alleged, as well as
"African uranium, thorium and other radioactive elements used to
manufacture nuclear fuel".
Training armed groups: "A few Israeli military
pensioners are on the lookout for job opportunities as trainers of African
militias," the reported said, "while other members of the delegation
were facilitating contracts for Israelis to train various militias."
Lieberman further annoyed the South African government in
November 2013 when he warned the country's 70,000-strong Jewish community that
it faced a "pogrom" and could only save itself by immigrating to
Israel "immediately, without delay, before it's too late."
"The government of South Africa is creating an
atmosphere of anti-Israeli sentiment and anti-Semitism," Liberman said,
"that will make a pogrom against Jews in the country in just a matter of
time".
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies dismissed
Liberman's comments as "alarmist and inflammatory", and noted that
South African Jews experienced comparatively low rates of anti-Semitism.
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