1903: Britain gives Karamoja to homeless Jews

In 1879 Austrian-Hungarian journalist, playwright, political activist and writer Theodor Herzl formed the Zionist Movement. Herzl outlined his vision for a Jewish state in Der Judenstaat (The Jewish State) published in February 1896, which detailed the practical functions of a secular, cosmopolitan state.

The Uganda question
After several meetings with the different European politicians and leaders trying to find a solution for the homeless Jews in Russia, Zionism leader Herzl got what he was looking for. On April 2, 1903, then British colonial secretary Joseph Chamberlain told him that the north-eastern part of Uganda would be an ideal place for the settlement of the Jews in Russia, giving birth to the Jewish Uganda plan of 1903.

Herzl at first chose to ignore the proposal because of his concerns that it might jeopardise his own plan for an autonomous Jewish settlement in the Sinai. But on the sideline, he instructed Leopold Greenberg, an accomplished British Jewish journalist, to follow up the Uganda option with the British secretary of colonies.
Chamberlain appointed Sir Clement Hill, superintendent of African protectorates, to do the negotiation for the settlement and he said the settlement could be politically independent from the rest of Uganda with its own administration.

During the Sixth Zionist Congress at Basel, Switzerland, on August 26, 1903, the British offer was presented by Herzl to the gathering of different Jewish groups for consideration. Herzl told the conference that the settlement was to cater for the Jews who were in immediate danger. By a vote of 295 to 178, it was decided that an investigative commission be sent to Uganda and do a feasibility study of the Karamoja region that was being proposed.

However, along the way, the Zionist movement was met with some opposition from other Jewish groups. The groups united to form the Jewish Territorialist Organisation between 1903 and 1905, which later opposed the Uganda scheme before it could even start.
During the 1905 Seventh Zionist Congress, the Uganda scheme was officially abandoned and 43 years later the state of Israel was born on May 14, 1948.

Uganda and Israel
As the wave of independence was sweeping through the African continent, Israel started making contacts with countries it deemed strategic to its survival and one such country was Uganda, although Uganda had not yet gained independence.
First contact between the two countries was in 1961 when the Israeli foreign affairs ministry sent Dr Oyre Oded, now a retired diplomat, to Uganda to cultivate relations between the two countries as it geared towards independence. He became an associate researcher at Makerere University.

As the relations between the two countries developed, the Israeli government fell prey to a Ugandan politician who impersonated prime minister Milton Obote. He spent a whole week in Israel being treated as a country leader in the waiting. It was later discovered when the same person went to Sweden impersonating Obote. The real Obote visited Israel on September 2, 1962.
During the visit, talks centred on cooperation in the areas of agricultural, military and security. To show their support, then Israeli labour minister Yigal Allon, representing his country at the Independence Day celebrations at Kololo, announced the awarding of 150 scholarships to Ugandan students in agriculture, medicine. Israel then became one of the first countries to open an embassy in Uganda.
To further forge ties between the two countries, a few months after independence Israel’s foreign minister Golda Meir visited Uganda. During the visit, she signed an agreement on technical cooperation.

Israel interests in Uganda
According to the Jerusalem Quarterly of 1980, among Israel’s interests in Uganda was “the need to make a break though in encirclement of hostile Arab countries and as the number of independent African countries was increasing, Israel wanted their support at the United Nations and in international conferences”.
Israel also had commercial, economic, and strategic interests in Africa, as well as a humanitarian goal of helping developing countries, especially in training manpower.
Amid all this, Uganda was of special interest to the Israel despite the failed resettlement scheme in 1903. Uganda was strategically located since it bordered Sudan in the north. By then Sudan had sided with other Middle East states in fighting against the establishment of the Jewish state.

In the early days of independence, Uganda stood to gain from political-economic areas. Obote’s first major objective in relating with Israel was to free Uganda from British dependency. Obote was ready to receive any help from Israel since it had a reputation of rapid economic development and military prowess.
A number of Israeli companies established their presence in Uganda in a bid to help with the economic development. Companies such as Koor-Sahar, Solel Boneh International SBI Vered and Tahal played a part in the construction of agricultural stations, public buildings, roads like the Kabale-Ntungamo road, and housing estates such as the Bugolobi flats, while Hiram-Ze’evi built roads and an airport in Arua.

In the defence sphere, according to Ha’aretz newspaper of October 9, 1964, Israel sent dozens of advisers to train Uganda’s infantry, parachutists, armoured corps and air force. Israelis trained the first Ugandan pilots on Fuga jets that were acquired in Israel.
Until 1967, Uganda voted on the same side with Israel on international matters that had any impact on Israel. But after the war between Israel and the Arab world, also known as the ‘six day war’, Uganda’s votes in the United Nations and other international forums changed. The situation was made worse with Obote making inroads in his dealings with the Muslim world.

Dealings with Amin
When Idi Amin took over power in a military coup, the finger was pointed to Israel to have played a hand in favour of Amin. Amin had benefited from military training in Israel in 1965 as a paratrooper where he made contacts. Although he never completed the course, Amin cultivated a number of friends in the Israel military so much that he was given a name, Hagai Ne’eman.

Writing in the Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 10, of 1972, Michael F. Lofchie, says: “The close cooperation between Amin and the Israelis, especially with the head of the Israeli military mission in Uganda then, Colonel Baruch Bar-Lev, led some to infer that Israel helped Amin in his coup.”
Israel, like the rest of the world, was stunned by the Amin coup in Uganda. After the coup, Israel made it clear that it would continue cooperating with Uganda and had no intention to interfere with its internal affairs.
However, according to a paper by the former Israeli diplomat who cultivated the Uganda-Israel relations, there were four stages of diplomatic relations between the two countries during Amin’s reign.

This included the honeymoon – January to February 1971. During this period, both governments had high expectations from each other. Amin hoped for military support while the Israelis expected Amin to support a rebellion in southern Sudan to counter the spread of Islam in the south.
Israel was Amin’s destination on his first visit as a head of state, less than a year after taking power. He met with foreign affairs minister Abba Eban, defence minister Moshe Dayan on top of meeting prime minister Golda Meir, according to the Ha’aretz newspaper of May 1971.

According to the London Times of February 1972, Amin purchased an assortment of weapons worth millions of dollars from Israel, including tanks and Fuga jet planes. Such military spending became a burden on the economy.
The second stage of the relation was the deterioration stage, from mid-1971 to late 1972. It was Amin’s demands that worsened the relationship. He started by asking for the recognition of his regime by the Israeli government, then asked for a £10m loan from Israel.

During the visit to Israel, Amin asked for Phantom fighters jets and also wanted Israeli support against his enemies both locally and foreign. Having got a negative response, Amin started looking elsewhere.
The third stage was the crisis stage where he developed ties with Libya and started giving different reasons for the falling relationship with Israel. He first summoned the Israeli ambassador to Uganda and accused the Israeli military advisers for neglecting their duties in Uganda.
A few days later, Amin cancelled all military agreements with Israel and the next day, March 23,1972, he ordered all Israeli military advisers out of the country. On March 30, Amin severed diplomatic relations with Israel on grounds that it was preparing a secret army of 700 men to overthrow his government.

Restoring ties
After 22 years of no diplomatic relations between Uganda and Israel, it was in 1994 that the relations were restored.
When he took power in 1986, president Museveni was not keen on having the relations restored. It was not until the 1990’s that he gradually drew closer to the West and softened his attitude towards Israel.
Former Israel ambassador to Kenya, Dr Oyre Oded, visited Uganda several times in an attempt to revive the relation.

According to The Uganda Scheme 1903, a paper by Oded, Museveni would say as long as the Palestinians were “homeless” he would not renew ties with Israel.
“After the Oslo accords in 1993, his [Museveni’s] attitude improved markedly and on July 29, 1994, I signed with him in Kampala an agreement to resume diplomatic relations. Since then, political and economic interaction between the two countries has grown with President Museveni visiting Israel several times, and Uganda is today considered one of the African countries friendly to Israel,” Oded says.

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