By Mubanga Mubanga
Israeli Ambassador to Zambia Ofra Farhi says her country believes that social justice and technical knowledge must be shared.
And Amb Farhi said Israel is working to establish an Intensive Care Unit at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Livingstone and to train local teams to help transform Zambia into a regional medical hub.
Speaking during the 78th Independence Day celebration of Israel in Lusaka on Tuesday, Farhi said thousands of Zambians were being trained in Israel. She said those that were being trained in Israel were turning what they learned into action, and were contributing to the country’s economic growth.
“MASHAV reflects the belief that even when Israel was a small, developing nation, social justice and technical knowledge must be shared. Since then, thousands of Zambians have received training in Israel and in Zambia. The establishment of the Shalom Club, the MASHAV Alumni Association in Zambia, particularly moves me. These women and men have taken Israeli expertise and turned it into action here,” Farhi said.“They are driving economic growth and community development. At the conclusion of my remarks, I will have the honor of inviting representatives of the new Shalom Club to join me on stage. Today, Israel’s presence in Zambia is felt through both our heart and our technology.”
Farhi said Israel was in a process of establishing an Intensive Care Unit at the University Teaching Hospital in Livingstone and to train local teams to help transform Zambia into a regional medical hub.
”At the same time, we are working to establish an Intensive Care Unit at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Livingstone and to train local teams to help transform Zambia into a regional medical hub. Innovation: Africa, in partnership with Water4Mercy, delivers water and light to the most remote villages through solar energy and Israeli technology. Tevel b’Tzedek works with rural communities to build resilience and a stronger society through Israeli knowledge and know-how,” Farhi said. “CultivAid is establishing a professional agricultural training center to ensure that Zambia realises its immense potential as the region’s breadbasket. In all these projects, we operate under our guiding motto: Israel: Where ancient wells meet modern streams. We connect the ancient wells of biblical morality to the modern streams of innovation.”
Farhi reaffirmed Zambia’s relations with Israel.
She stressed that the vision of the two founding leaders, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion and Zambia’s first President Kenneth Kaunda remained the compass that guided the two nations.
“This partnership stands on the shoulders of two visionary giants. On one side is Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, whom we saw just a moment ago, and on the other is Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, the founding father of the Zambian nation and its first President. Both were visionaries who understood that sovereignty was only the first step on an infinite path toward growth and prosperity. Ben Gurion once said: ‘In a state that wants to live, the citizens must feel that they are building it with their own hands every day anew.’ Dr. Kaunda, in his spirit of Humanism, added that ‘the future is what we create together’,” said Farhi. “Their shared vision remains the compass that guides us today. Over the past years, we have seen this compass in action. Our relations have reached new heights: from President Hichilema’s state visit to Israel to the historic visit of the President of the State of Israel, Isaac Herzog, landed here in Lusaka on the ‘Wing of Zion’ aircraft. These visits, along with those of our foreign ministers, are not merely ceremonial; they are engines of our mutual growth.”
