‘Israel a bridge for Africa to Asia’

ambassador to Zimbabwe, Dan Shaham (DS).
TM: Your Excellency, welcome to Zimbabwe . . . It’s my pleasure to meet you at short notice and to maybe get to know a number of things about our relationship, our countries’, Zimbabwe and Israel, where they are, why, how and then also to understand the Middle East, especially at this time; to understand what is going on. I would want to find out how you would describe the relationship between Zimbabwe and Israel.
DS: I’d say that the relationship, eh, I’m still learning so much about Zimbabwe, about the potential for our countries to work together. The relationship depends on what we will be doing. The relationship depends on the volume of contact that we have and my goal is to improve the relationship as much as possible, namely to have partnership in the fields of economics, tourism, health, education, you name it. I don’t see a place that we cannot do more. And in this sense I feel that the relationship can get better. There is (I can speak on my behalf, I represent Israel) a great interest in Israel to engage with Africa.  Israel is the land bridge. We see us, others, as we also got our independence late. So, we are a young country and we know what it means to struggle for economic independence; when people do not always agree; many times criticise and usually don’t understand from first hand. In that sense, Africa is for us a natural partner.
We don’t come as the high and mighty. We’re a small country with a hands-on approach. It’s not just words of propaganda for Israel. We do the stuff. We are not like big managers. We got a desert country and we made it what it is (and we needed it to work). Nobody did it for us. We started from real scratch, and we had to build it through a lot of what I’d say, eh, struggle for asserting our legitimacy in the region. Because many people in the region accept that we do not have the right to exist.  So, if you are asking me I think that Israel/Africa/Zimbabwe — eh, how do I see the relationship, I see the relationship as brothers.
We’re close to Africa. The only country that you can walk to from Africa is Israel. It’s not just words. So, in that sense, we are part of Africa. We are the bridge between Asia. And, we come from that place where you have to provide for yourself, because if you can’t do, nobody else will. 
TM: So, this is kind of the message that you are trying to tell the African brothers and sisters: you have to be self-reliant, if I can use that word — self-reliant?
DS: I think it’s a mixture of self-reliance, but very engaged on the international arena. Let’s talk about economics, Israel is a small country of seven million people. You cannot only build on the local market. So, we are very export-oriented. We cannot say, ‘Oh, we are just self-reliant, that’s it’. For you to be really self-reliant, you have to be very strongly networked outside. So, the self-reliance here, nobody will protect us if we do not do it ourselves. Nobody will protect us unless we fight the economic war. Now, with the economic turmoil that we see on the world economic market, we know that we need to tighten the belt in Israel. Nobody can solve our problems. There is no big bank that will just write us a cheque. There is no such thing.
So, that’s on one hand. But on the other hand, it doesn’t mean that you isolate (yourself). It means continuously working to engage. If you have something that I’d say characterise, eh, the ethos, of Israel, share it. Knowledge, whatever it is, Israel will share it with Africa. It’s not that we know how to do things better. Yes, there are things that we do, for example drip irrigation, the thing that we are well known most for. (But) it’s a matter of necessity. We just don’t have water. We don’t have rivers, so we need to conserve water.
We didn’t have any oil — natural oil. So, we had to develop solar energy. To tell you that we will keep it for ourselves, what for? We will share it; share it? That’s real growth.
TM: So in this case, coming to Zimbabwe, what kind of message, what areas are you zeroing in on? Are you meeting any government officials, and maybe which ones, which Government departments and I will also be interested in knowing whether Israel is doing any trading with Zimbabwe or would want to trade with Zimbabwe?
DS: This is my third trip. During the first trip, I presented my credentials to the President. During the second visit, I got the Vice President and immediately, the Minister of Agriculture because the thing that we want to zero in is agriculture especially for the small farmer to allow them to turn the corner so that they are not only on subsistence farming, but are able, with a basic kit of drip irrigation, are able to turn the corner and take them to a place where they are stable. They can get good crops using little electricity and that they have crops continuously and make money for themselves.
The second thing that I looked at is health.  In January, we are going to have an eye camp running eye operations. The location — that’s for the minister. We always work with the Government. We understand from Government things that need to be done, then we look for relevant partners. It can be private sector; it can be non-profit sector. It’s not only Government. It’s not only Israel. Israel and Zimbabwe, we try to find the right partnership. This third visit, I was focus more on inviting people to visit Israel. This country, I think there are a lot of people that know Israel through bible study.
TM: I know . . .
DS: I don’t need to tell them why Israel is attractive. They read it every Sunday or Wednesday and at home, and they grew up with it. So, I come to them and say to them shalom. It’s a blessing. There is a spiritual basis and affinity between the people, between Zimbabwe and Israel. There is a blessing, business blessing.
People have been to Israel from the diamond industry, from agriculture, from the ICT, just to name a few. ICT, we are going to have a group in October; energy, maybe in November; mining in December. There is so much interest. I think Zimbabweans will also consider Israel because we’re not the big, mighty country, but we are a partner that looks to Zimbabwe.
TM: You are inviting these groups. Who pays for them to visit Israel?
DS: They pay for themselves.
TM: People would want to see reciprocal visits where . . .
DS: As an ambassador of Zimbabwe to Israel, I have to understand that. I think I feel the people and I hope to see a little bit more of the beauty of this country. People regard it as heaven. Maybe there will be an interest among Israelis to come. They will come. They come to Victoria Falls. Israelis travel to Africa — South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe.
TM: And, now, let’s turn to Israel, to your region. Of late there has been something like a drumbeat of war, of whoever is going to attack first — Israel attacking Iran or vice-versa. What is going on? What is the real picture on the ground?
DS: Israel perceives with great worry, the pace with which Iran is acquiring and building its nuclear arsenal. When you put this with the kinds of threats and very clear declaration by the Iranians that they will wipe Israel from the map, Israel should not exist; we are very troubled. But a nuclear Iran is not the only issue that troubles Israel. Iran is engaged in consistent programmes, not only nuclear, but also supporting terror organisations, like Hezbollah (and) destabilising the whole Middle East. This is not like a fight between two neighbours. Iran establishes itself with the capacity to establishing a policy that will make the whole Middle East unsafe not only for Israel.
Israel is a prospering, peaceful environment, and we would like it to keep it that way. Israel doesn’t want war. It wants peace. It wants to live peacefully in the region, which is not a simple region, a very turbulent region, especially now. So, as a small nation, we speak peace, we want to live it, but we are expecting that the world will use common sense, I mean, what are they facing? For us, it’s a dangerous situation.  
TM: Any dialogue about the situation? I mean, have there been efforts to have dialogue to resolve the issue in a peaceful manner?
DS: Oh, dialogue — there has been a lot. The Europeans and all the countries that have been involved in this have tried to talk to the Iranians. They have all ended up basically with very little. Diplomacy — the Iranians have been very good in dialoguing. They brought the art of dialoguing to perfection. They will sit and talk with you as much as you want. We prefer that it be resolved peacefully. But the way the Iranians have been conducting has been tricky. It’s a complicated situation.
TM: So, if it continues, will Israel attack Iran? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been giving that understanding that Israel might unilaterally attack Iran without the United States of America? Is that possible or it is just politics?
DS: All options are possible. That’s of course if we are able to resolve it through diplomatic means. But, at the end of the day, we will defend ourselves.  We have made it very clear that this is not only an Israeli problem.  If somebody thinks that this is only an Israeli problem, and I think that a lot of the people in this area, our area . . .
TM:  . . . in the region?
DS: In the region, I’m sorry, understand who is who and what it means if Iran becomes nuclear.
TM: I’ll go back to the relationship, which you have described — Africa and Israel!  The bridge to Asia! Have efforts been made to try and involve the African brothers in the dialogue and see what they can offer in order to bring about a peaceful solution?
DS: I think that there is definitely an engagement with Africa. We see Africa as a player. The short answer is that we engage with Africa in multiple ways — bilaterally, and we want people to say how can they contribute, how can they assist in making the situation better.
TM: And, beyond Africa, Iran is hosting the next Non-Aligned Movement Summit. Is it possible for Israel to take the issue to NAM so that they can put it on their agenda? 
DS: We want this. Iran has been on the table for many years. Those people that we have been engaging with understand the problem and the issue. In a sense, by going to Iran, they give it support, legitimacy. Iran should not be the country that should host such a forum in the sense that people will come and say, oh, yes! 
There should be every pressure put on Iran to stop its nuclear programme. There should be every pressure, and NAM is definitely the right forum. You look to Africa. At times, even countries that are friends can say no, this is not the right thing to do. So, we are looking for this message to come through from Africa. 
TM: Thank you your Excellency!
DS: It’s my pleasure. I enjoyed the interview.