Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Chad
Chad's 1972 break with the Zionist state, the Mossad's role in keeping quiet ties, the 2019 renewal of relations by Idriss Déby and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Chadian embassy opened in 2023, the recall of its envoy over Gaza, and Israeli arms and interception equipment
Chad cut diplomatic relations with "Israel" in 1972. The two states renewed them in January 2019, when Benjamin Netanyahu visited N'Djamena and met President Idriss Déby.[1] Chad opened an embassy in "Israel" in February 2023.[2] In November 2023 it recalled its chargé d'affaires over the war in Gaza.[3]
Jewish community and religious life
History
No historic Jewish community in Chad was found in the sources consulted.
The community today
No organised Jewish community was found in Chad.
How far is it Zionist? No Zionist or Israeli-linked communal body was found in Chad.
Chabad
- Main article: Chabad-Lubavitch movement
There is no Chabad Bot page for Chad, and no permanent Chabad centre was found there. Chad is not among the ten countries with permanent centres under Chabad of Central Africa.[4] The Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States lists no rabbi in Chad.[5]
Zionist movement and advocacy
No organised Zionist movement was found in Chad.
Israeli state and commercial ties
The break and the Mossad (1972–2018)
According to the Times of Israel, Chad severed ties in 1972 under pressure from the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The Mossad "played a central role in maintaining quiet ties with Chad after 1972, and in working toward full normalization in recent years".[2] The paper quotes Idriss Déby as saying in Jerusalem: "The relations between our countries were cut in 1972 for specific historic reasons, but our special relations continued all the time."[2]
The 2019 renewal
In November 2018 Déby visited "Israel", the first visit by a Chadian leader. Netanyahu returned the visit on 20 January 2019, and the two announced the renewal of relations. Déby said they had signed several agreements, but he did not say what they were. The BBC cited a Jerusalem Post correspondent's view that Chad was interested in "security, intelligence, technology and a pathway to Washington".[1]
Déby was killed in 2021, and his son Mahamat Déby took power at the head of a military junta. Israeli Ambassador Ben Bourgel, based in Senegal, presented his credentials to Mahamat Déby in 2022 as a non-resident ambassador.[2]
The 2023 embassy
On 2 February 2023 Mahamat Déby inaugurated Chad's embassy in Tel Aviv in the presence of Netanyahu. According to the Chadian presidency, Netanyahu said that "Israel" would also open an embassy in N'Djamena.[6] On arrival Déby was met at the airport by the Mossad director, David Barnea, and his delegation went on to a celebratory meeting at Mossad headquarters in Glilot.[2]
The Times of Israel reported that:
- Chad voted in 2021 for "Israel" to join the African Union as an observer;
- it was absent from the UN General Assembly vote to refer the conflict to the International Court of Justice;
- a team of doctors from MASHAV, the Israeli foreign ministry's development agency, was training Chadian medical staff in emergency and trauma medicine.[2]
Recall over Gaza (2023)
On 4 November 2023 Chad recalled its chargé d'affaires for consultations. The government said that "Chad condemns the loss of human lives of many innocent civilians", and it called for a ceasefire and "a lasting solution to the Palestinian question".[3][7]
Arms
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute records Israeli deliveries of RAM armoured vehicles to Chad: six in 2006, 31 in 2008 and eleven in 2015.[8]
A 2011 SIPRI paper adds:
- Israel Weapon Industries sold Galil and Tavor rifles to Chad in 2006. It also brokered a deal for 4 million rounds of ammunition from a Serbian company.
- Israeli equipment for intercepting communications was reported as part of arms deals with Chad in 2007–2008.[9]
According to Ifri, the former Israeli air force lieutenant-colonel Gaby Peretz has been selling military equipment to West and Central African governments since the 1980s through his company AD Consultants. Chad is among his main customers.[10]
Trade
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics does not list Chad separately in its main table of trade by country. Chad falls under "Other Countries".[11]
Migration and aliyah
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics does not list Chad separately in its table of immigrants by country of birth.[12]
Political interference
According to the Times of Israel, the Mossad kept up quiet ties with Chad during the decades without diplomatic relations and worked towards normalisation. It hosted the Chadian leader at its headquarters when the embassy opened.[2]
No credible sourced link between Jeffrey Epstein and Zionist or Israeli activity in Chad was found, so this page has no Epstein section.
See also
- Mossad
- Zionist movement
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Sudan
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Cameroon
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 BBC News, Israel's PM Netanyahu signs deals with Chad's President Deby BBC News, 20 January 2019.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Lazar Berman and ToI Staff, Netanyahu joins Chad's president to open new embassy in Israel The Times of Israel, 2 February 2023.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 David McKenzie et al., South Africa and Chad recall diplomats from Israel CNN, 6 November 2023.
- ↑ Shloimy Galperin, Getting Central Africa's Rabbis Into One Room Isn't Easy Chabad.org, 10 June 2026.
- ↑ Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States, The Rabbis rabbisalliance.org, accessed 21 October 2026 (Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States-side).
- ↑ Présidence de la République du Tchad, Visite officielle en Israël : ouverture officielle de l'ambassade du Tchad à Tel Aviv presidence.td, 2 February 2023 (Chadian government-side).
- ↑ Xinhua, Chad recalls charge d'affaires to Israel over humanitarian crisis in Gaza Xinhua, 6 November 2023.
- ↑ Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Arms Transfers Database SIPRI, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Siemon T. Wezeman, Israeli Arms Transfers to Sub-Saharan Africa SIPRI Background Paper, October 2011.
- ↑ Benjamin Augé, Israel-Africa Relations: What Can We Learn from the Netanyahu Decade? Études de l'Ifri, Ifri, November 2020.
- ↑ Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), Foreign Trade Statistics Monthly, Table D1: Trade Countries – Imports and Exports CBS, December 2025 issue (library copy) (Israeli government-side).
- ↑ Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), Statistical Abstract of Israel 2024, Table 2.55: Immigrants, by period of immigration, country of birth and last country of residence CBS, 2024 (Israeli government-side).