On August 18, the Palestinian Permanent Representative to the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Ambassador Tamer Almassri, expressed gratitude that the SADC annual summit held the previous day in the Madagascan capital, Antananarivo, had uncharacteristically gone beyond the region’s development agenda to include, in its final communique, a statement condemning the genocide in Gaza. In the communique, southern Africa leaders, who have traditionally stood with Palestine, “expressed concern over the ongoing attacks on civilians in Palestine (Gaza), which have resulted in loss of life, destruction of property, and deteriorating humanitarian conditions, and called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the beginning of talks to find a permanent solution to the conflict.”

But Almassri’s comfort was short-lived. Two days later, the region woke up to news that Israeli Foreign Affairs minister, Gideon Sa’ar, was in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, to reopen the entity’s embassy in the southern African country as “part of a broader effort to strengthen and expand ties with African countries.”

Cheers and jeers

The news of the re-opening of the Israeli embassy divided both Zambians and broader Africans, with those who confuse the Zionist entity with the "biblical Israel" cheering the development, while most fumed over it, showing how divisive "Israel" is to the African continent. Zambians across the political spectrum have been expressing their displeasure at the development, including members of President Hakainde Hichilema’s ruling United Party for National Development (UPND). Meanwhile, the opposition Socialist Party Zambia has announced plans for protests to force the closure of the Israeli embassy, arguing that the "Israeli embassy’s re-opening is a betrayal of Zambia’s spirit and long-standing tradition of supporting the oppressed."

The Israeli embassy in Lusaka was closed in 1973 in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War, when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) – now African Union – ordered its members to sever all ties with the Zionist entity.

However, in 1991, Zambia, under President Frederick Chiluba, re-established diplomatic relations with "Israel", and in 2015, it opened its own embassy in Tel Aviv.

It is this decision to restore full diplomatic ties with "Israel" at a time when the apartheid Zionist entity is facing criticism from most African countries, particularly Algeria and South Africa, over its ongoing genocidal war in Gaza and broader treatment of Palestinians, that has caused Zambians and other Africans to view President Hichilema’s government as being out of step with the continent.

In February 2024, "Israel" was expelled from the African Union and stripped of its observer status after serious tensions over the Zionist entity's representation at AU meetings.

Since October 2023, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal genocidal campaign on the Gaza Strip, where the Gaza Health Ministry says over 62,000 people have been killed, 83% of them civilians, while another over 156,000 have been wounded. As a result, in November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Security Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza. "Israel" is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice, brought against it by South Africa over its actions in Gaza. It is under these circumstances that Zambians and other Africans are finding it strange that Zambia – the former home of the African liberation movement  – has decided to cosy up with the apartheid Zionist entity.

At the embassy’s re-opening event, Sa’ar thanked Zambia’s support for "Israel" at the International Court of Justice, commending its “moral stance” in standing with "Israel" against what he claimed to be ”distorted international procedure." On his part, President Hichilema, a beneficiary of an Israeli scholarship programme who visited the Zionist entity in 2023, defended his government's decision by citing Zambia’s “commitment to global partnerships rooted in democracy, innovation, and shared progress,” but not everyone agrees with him on "Israel".

‘This is betrayal’

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Joseph Musonda, member of the central committee of the Socialist Party Zambia and a pro-Palestine activist, told Al Mayadeen English that by embracing "Israel' at this point in time, Zambia is guilty of moral complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

“It is a betrayal of the African liberation heritage. Zambia, like most of southern Africa was born out of the sacrifices of the liberation movements and these movements stood firmly against colonialism, apartheid and all forms of settler occupations, so to now embrace ‘Israel’, which is nothing but a settler colonial apartheid regime, is an act of spitting on the graves of our martyrs and dishonouring the very principles of pan-Africanism.”

It was in Zambia that African leaders met in 1969 to emerge with the Lusaka Manifesto, which sought to end minority rule in apartheid South Africa, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Mozambique, Angola, and Namibia, and the country went on to play host to several liberation movements from across Africa, and the southern African country became the home of African liberation. 

‘Normalizing Israel is normalizing colonialism’

Musonda, who is also the Socialist Party Zambia youth league spokesperson, said the claim that Zambia, with this step, is being pragmatic and moving with the times is laughable.

“Pragmatism without principle is capitulation. Africa cannot sell its soul to the highest bidder in exchange for crumbs of ‘investment’ or diplomatic favours. True progress does not come from aligning with oppressors, but from building solidarity among the oppressed. Zambia aligning with ‘Israel’ is not really modernity, I see it as total surrender, it is proof that our ruling elites have actually abandoned the liberation project in favour of the neo-liberal opportunism,” Musonda said.

He stated that the struggle for Palestine is the continuation of the African liberation struggle.

“As much as other people might argue, to me Palestine is not a distant struggle… if anything, it is actually an African struggle because the same imperialistic forces and the apartheid regime that prolonged its oppression in South Africa are actually the very ones that are sustaining Israel today. So to normalise these relations with ‘Israel’ is basically normalising colonialism. Therefore, Zambia and Africa – of all continents – cannot  afford that betrayal.”

Zambia putting self-interest first

“This is a depressing development,” Gibson Nyikadzino, a pan-Africanist writer and researcher, told Al Mayadeen English. “Zambia is prioritizing self-interest as opposed to regional interests. It shows that there is a disconnect within SADC in terms of what it values as a region and what member states value as individual countries, so there is a need to have synchronization of the value system of the region so that it can permeate and be adopted by the rest of the member states.”

Mafa Kwanisai Mafa, a pan-Africanist, who is the co-ordinator of the Fidel Castro Chair in Africa, also sees the step taken by Zambia to be driven by self-interests, not the broader interests of humanity.

“This is the tragedy of our times,” said Mafa, who is also a lecturer at the Midlands State University in Zimbabwe. “Some African leaders are trading the principles of Pan-Africanism and solidarity for short-term economic promises. It is less about genuine friendship with Zionism and more about elite interests, aid, and political convenience. The continent’s founding fathers stood for justice and liberation, but today we see a generation of leaders willing to compromise these values. It is not that principles are dead, but they are being sacrificed at the altar of expediency.”

‘One day Palestine shall be free!’

Musonda told Al Mayadeen English that they are now working with other progressive forces to ensure that the Israeli embassy is removed from Zambian soil.

“We may face different arguments on this matter, but we remain steadfast with other progressive forces, demanding the reversal of the decision to reopen this apartheid embassy here in Lusaka. I am glad that now other progressive forces have come on board and the conservation is now becoming clear and louder and when you look at the people who are discussing these issues, they are actually young and this gives me hope that as long as there is love for humanity, young people are realizing that true progress does not come from sustaining oppression, but from standing up for the oppressed."

“I strongly believe that no matter how long it takes, as long as we remain committed to this cause, one day Palestine will be free. But we must not just be hopeful, we must call out the apartheid regime of ‘Israel’  for the war crimes, for the genocide, for the blood they are shedding of innocent children, innocent civilians. It is very sad to see Zambia abandoning everything that this country stood for. We were a beacon of hope for the oppressed of the world, and that must remain true even today.”

Calls have already started gathering momentum for the Palestinian Embassy to replace the Israeli Embassy in Lusaka.