HAILE SELASSIE I BREAKS OFF ALL RELATIONS WITH THE STATE OF ISRAEL
When United Nations Resolution 181 (II) was passed in November 1947, which called for the creation of the State of Israel alongside a Palestinian Arab State and the related partition of the territory, Ethiopia abstained. The Emperor was not opposed in principle to the creation of a Jewish state to compensate for the persecution of Jews by Nazi-Fascism, but this had to be done with full respect for the resident Arab population, who disagreed with the plan on several points. That’s why, immediately after Israel’s declaration of independence in May 1948, the first Arab-Israeli war broke out.
After this first conflict, Zionist effectively settled in the Palestinian territories assigned to them and established the State of Israel. Nevertheless Ethiopia, precisely because of the critical issues outlined above, did not legally recognize it until 1961, when Israel established diplomatic relations with most countries of the world. It should be remembered that until then, the only state legally recognized and known as “Kingdom of Israel” was Ethiopia.
In 1967, as had been widely predicted, the situation degenerated into another conflict, during which Israel established itself as a military power within that area, technically and politically supported by the United States, and began progressively occupying the territories legally assigned to Arabs by the UN, including Gaza. This led to the unanimous approval of Resolution 242 by the United Nations Security Council, of which Ethiopia was a non-permanent member, which called on the Israelis to withdraw from the occupied Arab territories and to respect the sovereignty of all peoples in the area, including the Palestinians.
Here began a conflict between the State of Israel and international law that has endured to this day, as those territories have remained under occupation ever since, in violation of all political legality. In 1973, another conflict broke out, and the United Nations passed Resolution 338, which ordered a ceasefire within 12 hours and the implementation of Resolution 242 with the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories, which obviously did not happen.
Following this grave and tenacious obstinacy against international law, Haile Selassie I ordered a complete severance of relations with Israel: the cessation of all transactions and trade, the cessation of all forms of political cooperation and communication, the withdrawal of embassies and diplomatic representations, and the immediate expulsion of Israeli officials and leaders residing in Ethiopia. This is what all nations that respect human rights should do now, and most of the Western countries are not doing it because they fear political and financial retaliation, since the Zionists constitute one of the most powerful lobbies of their economic system and are an outpost of American imperialism in the Middle East.
And the Emperor never restored these relations, since the 1974 communist coup led by Mengistu Hayle Maryam occurred, and some historians believe this was also a consequence of that stance on the Palestinian question. As the King of Kings stated:
“As long as Israel remains in these territories, there is no possibility for peace in the Middle East. Since Israel has not withdrawn from the conquered territories, Ethiopia has decided to sever diplomatic relations with it, and will continue to do so until Israel withdraws.”
As you well know, the UN recently reaffirmed the legal validity of this request, and because of this the institution was accused by Israeli authorities of “anti-Semitism,” even though Arabs are Semitic, probably more than the clearly Europeanized Ashkenazi Jews. It is the responsibility of all those inspired by Haile Selassie I and Ethiopia to preserve this lesson and advance this truly humanitarian cause, crucial for peace in the Middle East and in the Holy Land of the Prophets. It is the special responsibility of all those who represent Rastafari in the media, and propose themselves as educators, to take a clear and explicit position and to highlight the urgency of commitment and mobilization, demonstrating that they truly understand the message of their King and care about truth and justice.
In photo: Haile Selassie I in Jerusalem in 1936