Link: https://allafrica.com/stories/202111020757.html
On October 20, 2021 Israel was offered a spot as an observer in the African Union also known as the AU. The thought behind the offer was because of Israel’s long history of being very involved in Africa and with African Nations. This has created backlash from countries like South Africa because they think that a country like Israel should have no spot in the African Union that is supposed to be specifically for African countries. Although there is this opposition there is still a large majority of the countries that think that adding Israel to the AU would be good. This is because of how Israel enjoys practicing good diplomatic relations with African countries.
This is important because it would be a beneficial deal for not only Israel but also the African Union. Right now Israel is one the biggest external traders with many African countries. With offering Israel an observer seat in the African Union there can create a bigger focus on economic deals and agreements. With the more economically prosperous countries other countries throughout the world will start to want to create more trade deals with African countries. That can make African countries more eye-catching and make them be viewed with more power than they are right now.
This relates back to our class because the African Union is an economic and political IGO. That is the main reason that Israel is joining the African Union because right now Israel wants to grow its economy. This is the perfect situation for Israel to join because their national interest and reason for joining is why the AU exists. This will be an interesting thing to play out because countries like South Africa think that Israel has no place in the AU but it truly does better for both parties. This is just an observer position so they would have no say in the agreements and deals that take place they would just observe what happens.