ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we look at the often neglected partnerships that Israel built in the Middle East. More modest in their goals and their achievements, these partnerships offer a precious perspective on Israeli regional policies. We start by looking at the relation with Ethiopia under the rule of Haile Selassie. These exchanges started in 1957 and included military as well as economic cooperation. Ethiopia’s concerns over Nasser’s regional ambitions drove its motivation for the Israeli initiative but the death of Selassie and the subsequent rise of Mengistu in Addis Abeba led to the fall of this partnership.
We also document how other partnerships were initiated with minorities from the Arab world. Israel started cultivating ties with the Iraqi Kurds and the Lebanese Maronites. But as historical research evidences here, these relations led to unintended, and sometimes dramatic, consequences such as Israel’s implication in the Sabra and Chatila slaughter during the Lebanese civil war.
