Israel's National Aid Agency (NAA) operates an extensive aid system for Third World countries
"When I see the redemption of my Jewish people, I will want to reach out for the redemption of the Africans as well," Benjamin Ze'ev Herzl said in his vision, and in these days, when the image of the State of Israel is being tested and the headlines tell of yet another show of hostility against it, we went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem to see how the vision is being realized. Haim Divon, deputy director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and head of Israel's National Aid Agency (NAA), unfolds before us a completely different picture than the one depicted in the news. Hundreds of Israeli experts guide thousands of earners in Israel and abroad from more than 130 developing countries around the world.
Agriculture is the leading field in Israeli aid, and according to the wording of the Israel Defense Forces, the aid is adapted to local culture and needs. In East Africa, large projects are taking place, such as large areas in Ethiopia covered by Israeli greenhouses, while in West Africa, in Senegal, a work model is being developed with small farmers designed to improve yields through cheap means. More advanced assistance is also provided in the biotechnological field, such as the project recently inaugurated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Ethiopia based on biotechnological grafting. The intention is to impart knowledge and tools so that these countries can carry out R&D on their own. In the agricultural field, and despite the political upheavals, cooperation also continues in the Middle East with Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority, Dafna Golan, deputy director of the planning and foreign relations department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, tells us.
In East Asia, on the other hand, the field of agricultural high-tech in the dairy industry has developed greatly. In China there is great interest in establishing dairies. The company Efimilk of Kibbutz Afikim won the tender for the establishment of a dairy in the Mashab project, and in light of the success many other agreements were signed with the company. This is part of the process of changing the food basket in East Asia. The consumption of dairy products increases with the increase in the standard of living. At the same time, there was a steep increase in the prices of milk powder, and China and now also Vietnam, wanted to establish their own dairies, and they turned to get advice from Israel.
Extensive activity also takes place in Latin America, Asia and Eurasia. Israel even exports advanced technological knowledge, and the Southeast Asian region serves as a leading example of this. Vietnam, for example, is a country where Israeli aid occupies a central place in the relationship between the countries, the outgoing ambassador to Vietnam and Laos, Efi Ben Matathiu, tells us. "This is a country that is advancing very quickly," he says, "especially in the field of information technology. The Vietnamese government turned to us for creative solutions. They built the chapter heads for the meetings, Mashab built the logistical and organizational infrastructure, including professional guidance from the Ministry of Communications, and Israeli companies presented their capabilities in areas such as cellular technologies, network security, systems and government ICT. As a result, our representatives were exposed to local companies and placed themselves in a promising entry position. The issue of technological assistance and knowledge transfer is of great interest to the political and business sector in Vietnam," Ben Matthiyahu concludes. In Vietnam, very large seminars on water and wastewater management were also held with the participation of the Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Agriculture in combination with a video conference. This is an issue in which Israel leads and Vietnam needs it, and it sees Israel as a model to follow.
But why is the State of Israel, we ask, even interested in helping third world countries? Don't we have enough troubles of our own? First of all the answer is a combination of values and the promotion of the interests of the State of Israel, says Haim Divon. When the Israel Defense Forces was established, 51 years ago, during Golda Meir's tenure as Foreign Minister, David Ben-Gurion consecrated aid as a value, even when the State of Israel was in its infancy. But even today the value emphasis is in the center, Divon explains that when countries use the aid they provide but only as a tool to promote their interests, the aid fails. But if the aid is genuinely given in areas that the assisting country needs, the helping country also benefits from advancing its position. But there is also another aspect, Divon explains, that many are not aware of. Today, the State of Israel helps other countries also out of our commitment as a member of the family of nations, "It has long been no longer an optional issue," Divon says. "Today, the State of Israel, as a developed country, has an obligation anchored in international decisions such as the Paris Declaration and the UN resolution on the Millennium Goals, and its aid operations are an important component of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In order to join this prestigious club, we must accept upon ourselves the guidelines for business, economic conduct and as an assisting country, and there is an expectation from us to behave according to the code of conduct of the club members in the field of aid as well."
Israeli aid is received not only as providing proven solutions on relevant and essential issues for countries, but also as reliable and non-conceited aid. "We serve as an example to them of a small country that, despite all the problems facing it, managed to achieve achievements. For third world countries, which are immersed in serious problems, this thing is more important than the aid received from larger and richer countries, as it gives them hope." The meeting with Israel greatly surprises the guests, says Divon. "Until they got here, they only know the Israel that is shown on CNN. They are sure that as soon as they get off the plane they will have to wear a vest and a helmet. The first meeting, already on the fast road from the airport, makes the gap clear to them. And when they see that, despite our special situation, we have solutions on various issues, relevant to their development challenges, this gives us a special status in their eyes." In countries like Vietnam, says Efi ben Matityahu, the interest in Israel is mainly economic-technological and not political. In these countries, people are more concerned with their own problems, and less with the Israeli-Arab conflict, which is why the technological meeting we held received very sympathetic and wide-ranging coverage in the local media.
The Israeli experts are welcomed with open arms, says Divon, and they also receive cooperation and sympathy from the UN aid agencies. Here, too, there is a big gap between the picture that emerges from the headlines and the reality. "The Israelis believe that there is great hostility between us and the UN, but in practice there is extensive joint activity with the professional UN organizations on a regular basis."
During the conversation, the figure of the guides and expert assistants comes up for discussion. They come from all fields: civil servants, academia, doctors from hospitals and of course private companies. The Israel Defense Forces do not hide the fact that they promote Israeli technologies, but emphasize that the demand to hear the representatives of Israeli commercial companies comes from the countries themselves. After the beneficiaries hear general reviews of the Israeli solutions, they ask to meet with representatives of blue-and-white business companies to promote the issue in the field. This allows the MSHB to gain cooperation with the Israeli business companies: they provide training and in return receive business meetings with local entities.
But the activity also has other sides. One of the most important things for an expert in a foreign country is the ability to overcome cultural gaps - the greatest expert will fail if he does not know how to communicate with the locals at eye level.. This is where the special nature of the Israeli representatives comes to our aid, which allows them direct and unmediated communication with the residents of the countries in Africa and Asia. "The unmediated relationship, the lovable Israeli "doggery", the willingness to kneel down to the ground, they immediately see that we do not have "colonialist arrogance". Divon says. Another advantage is the ability to improvise, in third world countries an unexpected malfunction may always arise, and the Israeli experts excel at solving such problems in the field.
To our questions, how does the Israel Defense Forces manage to recruit hundreds of Israeli experts and what motivates them, Haim Divon replies: "In an Israeli expert, you can find a combination of an adventurer with a sense of mission... This allows the Israel Defense Forces to respond quickly to the demands of the Third World conveyed through the embassies. First-rate medical professors are willing to travel to remote locations. There is a group of wonderful people in Israel, the likes of which are hard to find in the West, who can be sent to such places, and all this for a salary close to volunteering."
Apart from the "classic" areas of water, land, wastewater treatment, meteorology and more, the MSHB tries to identify new needs. For example, these days, the MSHB is engaged in an aid project for young people, mainly in Latin America, in establishing small businesses that will allow them to get out of the cycle of poverty and unemployment. In the field of the police, they are working on strengthening civil security in needy countries, strengthening the relationship between the police and the community, establishing emergency services and establishing units for strategic planning at the municipal level. The international aid organizations understand that in African countries and around the world it is impossible to expect the central government to bring about change, and therefore turn to strengthening the capacities of the local level. Israel is among the pioneers in the issue of gender and women's empowerment in relation to development, since the days of Golda Meir in the 60s, and of course also in the field of alternative energies, for example the integration of solar energy as part of projects under difficult conditions. MSHB is currently conducting a very advanced dialogue on the issue with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Infrastructure.
Dr. Alexander Manes is editor-in-chief of Scientific American Israel (SAI) and has been participating for years in Israeli missions of the Israel Meteorological Society around the world in the field of meteorology. Dr. Eitan Crane, Scientific-Operational Editor of SAI and Director of the Culture-Science Program at Hamada.
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