PARIS — Dozens of diplomats, academics, businesspeople and journalists gathered May 31 in Paris, for a one-day event on Africa, organized by Israel’s embassy in France. The event celebrated Israel-Africa relations in many fields, including business opportunities, NGOs, joint development projects, diplomacy, security, and more. The main spirit behind the event was the spokesperson of the embassy in Paris, Simon Seroussi, who had previously served in Israel’s embassy in Cameroon.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid sent a video message emphasizing the importance Israel gives to rapprochement with African countries and institutions. Lapid noted, "Thousands of Israeli engineers, scientists, and experts, and dozens of Israeli embassies, work together with African partners in Senegal, Kenya, Tanzania, and elsewhere, building transport and water infrastructure, strengthening agriculture, and training local experts.’’

The Netanyahu governments perceived African immigrants as a threat to Israel’s society. In a clear diplomatic shift, Lapid hailed their positive contribution. "Immigrants from Africa — from Morocco and Algeria, Tunisia and Libya, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa, and more — proudly call Israel their home, and our country would not be the same without their food, music, and culture, as well as their contributions in science, business, politics, the arts, and more.’’

Israel’s Foreign Ministry Deputy Director of the Africa Division Sharon Bar-Li told the press, "If you look at the changes in the Middle East, and on the backdrop of the Abraham Accords, newly established diplomatic relations and normalization process with some countries in the Gulf and North Africa, we learned that two countries do not have to agrees on all issues in order to cooperate.’’