WhatsappChad is just one example of many other places that will follow. You don’t need to love the Jewish people to understand that there are many reasons to connect with the State of Israel. Chad is a Muslim country. But, they have so much to gain from Israel, Every country in Africa can benefit from the State of Israel’s many advances in hi-tech and low-tech agriculture.
What’s in it for Israel?
The Jewish population of Chad is probably zero. Or else, it is very close to zero. So, is the reason to work with Chad pure altruism? Not at all. There are many things that Israel has to gain from the establishment of relations with Chad. First off, it may very well lead to other Muslim countries who have no interest in fighting Israel establishing relations.
But the main reason is that the world is now a very interconnected place. Much more than any other time. If a country has diplomatic ties with any country, it can come in handy in any myriad of ways at some point in the future.
Raid on Entebbe
In 1976, Israel found itself in a horrible situation. Black September terrorists hijacked a plane with 101 Jews on board and took them to Entebbe in Uganda. As Shimon Peres, the Defence Minister at the time put it, it seemed as if there would be a mini-Holocaust. But, Israel was able to quickly put together a plan to fly down and rescue the Jews on board. A critical aspect of this was that an Israeli company had actually designed the terminal where the hostages were being held. Additionally, since Israel had some form of normalization with Kenya, the Israeli planes were able to refuel there on the return. Small details – but they helped make the mission a success.
The normalization of relations between Israel and Chad is just one of so many positive steps that positions Israel better on the world stage. We thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for this achievement.
