Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Israel prepares for historic visit by Mali prime minister

Mali cut ties with Israel following the Yom Kippur War in 1973, when Israel faced a surprise attack from neighboring Arab countries on the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

Malian Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga. Credit: Screenshot.
Malian Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga. Credit: Screenshot.

Prime Minister of Mali Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga is expected to visit Israel in the coming weeks, reported Israel’s Channel 13 on Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met last year with Malian President Ibrahim Keita on the sidelines of a summit with West African leaders in Liberia, where the two agreed to seek “warm relations,” according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office.

Mali cut ties with Israel following the Yom Kippur War in 1973, when Israel faced a surprise attack from neighboring Arab countries on the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.

This development comes after a major attack by an Islamic terror group killed 10 U.N. peacekeepers from Chad, wounding at least 25 others in Mali on Sunday in what the Al-Qaeda-linked Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen group said was a response to Chadian President Idriss Déby’s renewed diplomatic relations with Israel.

“This political environment could discourage congressional committee staff and federal agency personnel from pursuing investigations or enforcement actions involving antisemitism,” Karen Paikin Barall of the Brandeis Center told JNS.
The Nachala Movement says 1,500 families are waiting to move into the Strip, as supporters call for the renewal of communities dismantled in 2005.
“Parents send their children to school to learn reading, writing and math, not to be taught to hate Israel or embrace radical political causes,” stated Rep. Tim Walberg, chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee.
The suspension follows new aviation security directives issued after the Sept. 30 attack on a flydubai flight to Tel Aviv.