BREAKING NEWS: Equatorial Guinea to Move Their Embassy to Jerusalem

The coastal, western African nation, with Africa’s highest per capita income, currently has their embassy in Tel Aviv

By Nosson Shulman: Licensed Tour Guide of VIP Israel Tours & Authentic Virtual Tours (click here to check out his free trailer videos)

After speaking with President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the west African nation promised to move its embassy, currently in Tel Aviv, to Jerusalem.

Equatorial Guinea becomes just the latest nation to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Long considered taboo for political reasons, the US formally moved their embassy to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018. Two days later, Guatemala followed suit. Since then, several nations have announced they will move their embassies to Jerusalem including Kosovo, Serbia, Malawi, and Honduras. The Czech Republic, Brazil and the Dominican  Republic have also taken formal steps to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital such as opening official diplomatic missions in the Holy City, though they have yet to officially announce moving their physical embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

This major news is not merely symbolic, but has the potential to contribute positively to the peace process. Though Jerusalem is Israel’s true capital, for many years almost every country had their embassy in Tel Aviv, with none found in Jerusalem. In the 1947 UN Partition plan which declared the founding of a Jewish state, Jerusalem was given the status of “Corpus Separatum” an international zone which would be ruled by a consortium of nations. In the 1948 War of Independence, Israel gained controlled of Western Jerusalem, while eastern Jerusalem was seized by Jordan’s army. The UN never officially recognized Israel’s claim to Jerusalem (even it’s western half).

In the 1967 Six Day war, the IDF, fighting a defensive war, liberated Eastern Jerusalem and united it with the rest of the city. In 1980, Israel legally annexed eastern Jerusalem, a moved not recognized by most of the international world, including allies of Israel, for fear of angering the oil rich Arab world. Many countries and organizations, including the EU and UN, claimed without evidence that to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would lead to terrorism against western targets, crippling oil sanctions, and would destroy the peace process. Others countered that moving the embassy was the right thing to do because every country has the right to pick its capital, Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for over 3000 years and far from hurting the peace process, it would enhance it by removing false hopes from the Palestinians that Jerusalem would ever be their capital. History proved the latter experts correct: not only were participating countries not rocked by the “predicted” international incidents but in quick succession, four Muslim countries made peace with Israel, with more considered likely to follow in the not to distant future.

Since Israel’s founding, Equatorial Guinea has had an off and on relationship with the Jewish state. Relations between the nations started in 1968, though the coastal African nation cut off relations with Israel in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Relations were re-established in 1994. In 2019, Equatorial Guinea opened their first embassy in Tel Aviv which they have now announced they plan to relocate to Jerusalem.

With a GDP per capital income of $34,865, oil rich Equatorial Guinea which has a population of 1.3 million people, is officially Africa’s richest country. Blessed with fertile soil, the country is an exporter of cassava, coffee, bananas, rice and yam. It’s vast rain forests make it a major producer of timber and its beaches/natural beauty attract tourists worldwide. Because most of the wealth is contributed in the hands of the elite, the country suffers from severe, abstract poverty and some of the worst infrastructure on the continent.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has made building relationships with African nations a cornerstone of his governance. As Israel is a world leader in agricultural, water and medical technologies, many African nations plagued with these issues have experienced firsthand the benefits of good relations with Israel. By increasing ties, President Mbasogo is hoping it will pay dividends for his the citizens. 

Nosson Shulman is a journalist and Licensed Tour Guide in Israel specializing in Biblical tours. To allow tourists to experience Israel during the Corona era, he created the new hit Israel tour video series which brings Israel to the home of viewers by simulating actual tours. To check out his free sneak preview tour videos, click here.