Israeli entrepreneurs moving into the nascent country, planning to establish farming communities for former soldiers along border with the Muslim northIsraeli entrepreneurs have been active in South Sudan for the past two years, and now that the Christian enclave has become an independent country, they’re willing to let their presence there be known.
At the head of the group of Israeli entrepreneurs stands Tamir Gal, a member of the Kfar Vitkin moshav. He and his partners have business operations in communications and agriculture in countries around the world, including in Africa.
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Sudanese refugees celebrating South Sudan’s independence, at a party in Tel Aviv, July 10, 2011. |
| Photo by: Sara Miller |
Gal and his partner Rafi Dayan, CEO and owner of Yarok 2000, are planning major agricultural projects for the new South Sudanese government, including a fruit and vegetable farm and a poultry business with henhouses and a slaughterhouse, scheduled to begin operating at the beginning of next year.
The project is intended to enable the South Sudanese to produce their own food. The area’s agricultural sector was destroyed by the northern Sudanese army and Muslim militias, leaving the residents without food sources. Currently, South Sudan imports 99% of its food and pays high prices.
The agricultural initiatives are also designed to provide employment for a large number of people and to teach agricultural methods. South Sudan’s autonomous government approved the project two years ago.
Israeli entrepreneurs also are helping to set up farming communities for former South Sudanese soldiers along the border with the Muslim north. These projects are expected to begin next year.
One large project with Israeli involvement is a 3,000-dunam irrigated vegetable farm, and a 10,000-dunam unirrigated farm for growing seeds. These initiatives were financed by a local investor.
In addition, Israelis helped the country set up its first Internet service provider, Bilpam Telecommunications.
Gal’s company will be working on projects worth a total of $20 million to $25 million by 2012, barring no unexpected political upheaval, he said.
AJC Applauds Israel-South Sudan Diplomatic Ties
July 30, 2011 — New York — AJC applauds the establishment this week of formal diplomatic relations between Israel and South Sudan. Africa’s newest nation declared independence on July 9.
“It is gratifying that South Sudan has entered into mutually beneficial ties with Israel,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “We celebrate the courage of those Israelis and South Sudanese whose dedication over the decades to nurturing relations under difficult conditions made this day possible.”
AJC, through its Africa Institute and Project Interchange program, contributed to the evolving relationship.
Israel-South Sudan interactions began as early as the late 1960s, when leaders of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army, waging an insurrection against the North from the South, and impressed by Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, reached out to Jerusalem.
Visiting Israel was a punishable offense in Sudan, and southerners maintained ties with Israel at great personal risk. The Islamist regime in Khartoum not only refused to engage Israel, but Sudanese passports included language explicitly stating that they were valid everywhere except for Israel.
A large South Sudanese diaspora in Israel advocated for ties to be formalized, and the Israeli government found ways to engage constructively with the leadership in Juba, mainly through Mashav, the international cooperation division of Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
Non-governmental organizations also played a critical role. AJC’s Africa Institute visited South Sudan in 2008 to meet with government officials and learn of ways in which the diaspora in Israel might be involved in the state-building efforts in preparation for independence. The AJC visit was carried out in cooperation with the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, Samaritan’s Purse, and HIAS. AJC’s Africa Institute also introduced senior members of the South Sudanese leadership to officials in Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Through AJC Project Interchange, a senior public health official from Juba visited Israel in October 2010. He was part of a delegation of East African medical research doctors exploring joint projects with colleagues in Israel.
AJC’s Africa Institute was established in 2006. Its director, Eliseo Neuman, has been a key liaison with South Sudanese leaders.
