Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: relations with "Israel" since 1978, the first Pacific embassy in Jerusalem (2023), Israeli Arava aircraft, and PNG's UN votes
Papua New Guinea (PNG) renewed relations with "Israel" in 1978.[1] On 5 September 2023 it became the first Pacific country to open an embassy in Jerusalem, inaugurated by Prime Minister James Marape and Benjamin Netanyahu.[2] "Israel" sold PNG three Arava transport aircraft in the 1980s.[3]
Israeli state and commercial ties
Diplomacy
The Israeli foreign ministry's 2011 list of missions records relations with Papua New Guinea as renewed in June 1978, with "Israel" represented by its ambassador in Australia.[1]
On 5 September 2023 Marape and Netanyahu opened the PNG embassy in Jerusalem. Marape said the decision was "based on Papua New Guinea's Christian principles", and that "Papua New Guinea chose to join United States, Kosovo, Guatamala and Honduras in opening its Embassy in Jerusalem in acknowledgement of our Judeo-Christian worldview that Jerusalem is historically the headquarter of the nation and the people of Israel."[2] ABC News reported that the move had long been sought by pro-Israel church groups inside and outside PNG.[4] Accounts of the funding differ: Al Jazeera, citing the Post-Courier, reported that "Israel" would pay for the embassy for the first two years,[5] while Marape told ABC News: "For the first three years, the nation of Israel is paying for the cost of the embassy."[4] Inside Story noted that PNG had voted in 2017 for the General Assembly resolution asking states not to establish diplomatic missions in Jerusalem.[6]
On 20 October 2025 the Israeli deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel called on Marape in Port Moresby to convey Netanyahu's thanks for PNG's support, telling him: "You have opened the PNG embassy in Jerusalem, and for that we are extremely grateful." Marape replied that PNG recognised Jerusalem as the "eternal" capital of "Israel".[7]
Military
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) records a $10 million deal, ordered in 1984, for three new Arava transport aircraft delivered to PNG in 1986.[3]
Trade
Al Jazeera reported that Israeli authorities put bilateral trade at only $1 million a year.[5] The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics reports that "Israel" imported goods worth $0.0 million from Papua New Guinea in 2025 (2024: $0.1 million) and exported goods worth $0.3 million to it (2024: $1.3 million).[8]
Political interference
UN voting
According to 1News, Papua New Guinea voted against the General Assembly's October 2023 resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.[9] Papua New Guinea voted against the resolution of 12 December 2023 demanding an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire", according to The Diplomat.[10] The Guardian listed it among the 12 states that voted against a later General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, which passed with 149 votes in favour.[11] In September 2024 it voted against the resolution demanding that "Israel" end its "unlawful presence" in the Occupied Palestinian Territory within 12 months.[12] Papua New Guinea voted against the September 2025 General Assembly resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on a two-state solution.[13]
See also
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Australia
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Fiji
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Kiribati
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to the Marshall Islands
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to the Federated States of Micronesia
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Nauru
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to New Zealand
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Palau
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Samoa
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to the Solomon Islands
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Tonga
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Tuvalu
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Vanuatu
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Missions Abroad: Status of relations mfa.gov.il, archived 5 August 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council (Papua New Guinea), PNG opens new diplomatic mission in Jerusalem; becomes first Pacific nation to do so pmnec.gov.pg, 5 September 2023, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Arms Transfers Database SIPRI, trade register for Israel as supplier, 1950–2025, data generated 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Allyson Horn, Israel to bankroll PNG embassy in the contested city of Jerusalem, says PNG prime minister James Marape ABC News, 6 September 2023, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Papua New Guinea opens Israel embassy in West Jerusalem Al Jazeera, 5 September 2023, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Nic Maclellan, Palestine and the Pacific Inside Story, 7 October 2025, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council (Papua New Guinea), Israel appreciates Papua New Guinea for standing by its side; PM Marape receives word from PM Netanyahu pmnec.gov.pg, 20 October 2025, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), Foreign Trade Statistics Monthly, Table D1: Trade Countries – Imports and Exports CBS, December 2025 issue (library copy).
- ↑ Indira Stewart, Israel and the Pacific – a surprisingly close 'friendship' 1News, 10 March 2024, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Logan Green, Pacific Island States Continue Disproportionate Support of Israel at the UN The Diplomat, 16 December 2023, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Jonathan Yerushalmy, As censure increases over war in Gaza, Israel finds support among Pacific Islands The Guardian, 6 September 2025, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ UN outliers: 7 Pacific states vote against resolution to end Israel's 'unlawful presence' in Palestine RNZ, 19 September 2024, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ United Nations General Assembly, Recorded vote on A/80/L.1/Rev.1: Endorsement of the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, 12 September 2025 (copy hosted by Al-Quds Al-Arabi).