Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Gabon
Gabon's relations with the Zionist state, broken after 1973 and resumed in 1993, Israeli farm training, Magal's security contract for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Israeli arms dealer Gaby Peretz, and a 2026 arms contract with an Israeli firm
Gabon established relations with "Israel" soon after independence in 1960. It cut them after the 1973 war and resumed them in 1993.[1] Israeli companies have sold security systems and military equipment to the Gabonese state. In 2026 the military government of Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema was reported to have signed a €200 million arms contract with an Israeli firm.[2]
Jewish community and religious life
History
No historic Jewish community in Gabon was found in the sources consulted.
The community today
No organised Jewish community was found in Gabon.
How far is it Zionist? No Zionist or Israeli-linked communal body was found in Gabon.
Chabad
- Main article: Chabad-Lubavitch movement
There is no Chabad Bot page for Gabon, and no permanent Chabad centre was found there. Gabon is not among the ten countries with permanent centres under Chabad of Central Africa.[3] The Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States lists no rabbi in Gabon.[4]
Zionist movement and advocacy
No organised Zionist movement was found in Gabon. In 2011 the pro-Zionist advocacy group The Israel Project published a briefing on Gabon. At the time Gabon held a seat on the UN Security Council, and the group noted that it was "set to play a critical role in the Palestinian drive for state recognition".[1]
Israeli state and commercial ties
Diplomacy
According to The Israel Project, Gabon and other sub-Saharan states cut ties after the 1973 war "due to pressure from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)". Relations "picked up again" in 1993 and were managed from the Israeli embassy in Cameroon. The group listed friendship treaties, commerce agreements and visa waivers for diplomats.[1]
Agriculture
In 2010 "Israel" was training farmers in Gabon, as well as in Senegal and Ivory Coast.[5]
Security contracts
- 2011: The Israeli firm Magal Security Systems won a $35.5 million contract to provide an integrated security system for the 28th Africa Cup of Nations, which Gabon and Equatorial Guinea co-hosted in January 2012. Magal's chairman, Jacob Perry, called it "the largest project in our history".[6]
- Gaby Peretz: 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. Gabon is among his main customers.[7]
- 2026: Citing Africa Intelligence, a Gabonese outlet reported that in mid-June 2026 Gabon finalised a contract for military equipment worth €200 million (about 131 billion CFA francs) with "AD Con, société israélienne spécialisée dans les solutions sécuritaires et les équipements tactiques". It linked the purchase to Oligui Nguema's restructuring of the security forces.[2]
Arms
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute records no Israeli deliveries of major weapons to Gabon.[8]
Trade
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics records Israeli imports from Gabon of $0.1 million in 2025 (2024: $0.2 million), and exports to Gabon of $0.2 million (2024: $2.0 million).[9]
Migration and aliyah
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics does not list Gabon separately in its table of immigrants by country of birth.[10]
Political interference
No sourced case of Israeli political interference in Gabon was found.
No credible sourced link between Jeffrey Epstein and Zionist or Israeli activity in Gabon was found, so this page has no Epstein section.
See also
- Zionist movement
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Cameroon
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Equatorial Guinea
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Israel Project, Gabon and Israel: Ties of Friendship and Commerce theisraelproject.org, 5 October 2011 (archived) (partisan).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Direct Infos Gabon, Défense : Le Gabon engage 131 milliards de FCFA dans un contrat d'armement avec l'opérateur israélien AD Con Direct Infos Gabon, 23 June 2026.
- ↑ 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 (partisan).
- ↑ Voice of America, Israel Teaches Irrigation Methods to Senegalese Farming Students VOA, 26 April 2010.
- ↑ Globes correspondent, Magal jumps on $35m African football deal Globes, 31 May 2011.
- ↑ Benjamin Augé, Israel-Africa Relations: What Can We Learn from the Netanyahu Decade? Études de l'Ifri, Ifri, November 2020.
- ↑ Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI Arms Transfers Database SIPRI, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), Foreign Trade Statistics Monthly, Table D1: Trade Countries – Imports and Exports CBS, December 2025 issue (library copy) (partisan).
- ↑ 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 (partisan).