Angola, a country rich in natural resources, diamonds and oil in Southwest Africa, was in the 20th century one of the main battlegrounds of the "Cold War" between the US and the Soviet Union. Among other things, in the 1970s Cuba sent tens of thousands of soldiers and advisers to the country. In a telegram dated August 15, 1980, sent from the Israeli embassy in Washington to Jerusalem, it was reported that the person in charge of Angola in the US State Department told the embassy representatives that "of all the points in the world where the US competes with the USSR for influence, the ideal place to achieve real achievements against the communists is Angola."

In a review from May 14, 1992, prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hundreds of years of bloody history were summarized in one paragraph: "Angola was a Portuguese colony from 1655 to 1951. In 1951, its status was changed to a Portuguese overseas territory." In 1975 it gained independence when three different movements are in the arena of internal politics. The FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola), the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) - had an extreme left-wing affiliation supported by the USSR and Cuba, and the UNITA (National Union for the Complete Independence of Angola), led by Dr. Jonas Savimbi who resigned in 1964 from the MPLA and was supported by the US and South Africa.

The civil war that began there drew massive international involvement and the MPLA which controlled the capital region of Luanda and was officially recognized by the Organization of African Unity, became the ruling party, waging bloody battles against UNITA, which became an underground anti-communist movement. This civil war, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of dead and injured, meant that in a country rich in natural treasures, hunger, lack of everything and the destruction of the infrastructure prevailed."

Most of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs files regarding Israel's involvement in Angola are still confidential. In the past two years, several dozens of files have been opened to the public that confirm information previously published by Yossi Melman in Haaretz, and also add details about the scope and content of Israeli involvement.

From the telegrams it appears that, unlike the US, Israel showed flexibility and was not interested in the global struggle between the West block and the Soviet block or the ideology of the Angolan liberation movements, but mainly if the specific movement was willing to build relations with it in contrast to the position of the Arab states. Israel held talks with all the liberation movements and each time chose to concentrate its support for the one that it identified as having the chance to prevail.

Between the years 1961-1974, a murderous war of independence was fought in Angola for liberation from the brutal colonial regime of Portugal. In a telegram sent on May 4, 1961, the Israeli envoy in Leopoldville (the capital of the Congo), Hanan Aynor, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, he reported that he had met with "high-ranking Portuguese officers" who told him that they were "ready to destroy and depopulate entire areas because Portugal is a poor country incapable of waging a prolonged colonial war and so it must break their strength fast."

The officers estimated that between 20 and 30 thousand Africans had been killed so far. One of the officers even said that he participated in the raid on the African quarter in the capital of Angola, Luanda, where 33 men and a woman were murdered.

In the minutes of a discussion in the government, dated August 14, 1960, Foreign Minister Golda Meir explained, "Of the European powers that have colonial territories, almost only Portugal remains and it has problems in Angola... We do not owe Portugal anything, moreover - it refuses to have normal diplomatic relations with us ". Accordingly, during the war of independence in Angola, Israel mainly supported the government in exile (GRAE), headed by Holden Roberto, and its military arms, including the FNLA.

In a telegram dated January 27, 1965, sent by the chief assistant in the Africa department, Meir Yufa, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he wrote that Roberto was considered a "part of the family" in the Israeli ambassador circle in Leopoldville and had "very good personal relations" with him. According to Yufa, while it "evaded" his requests in the "military area (supplying weapons and training officers in Israel)", Israel helped by financially supporting him and his sick wife who was being treated in Europe; in donations to Angolan refugees (money, blankets and medicine); in financing the purchase of cars for use by members of the exiled government in their "movements between Leopoldville and the training camps"; in financing travel expenses for Roberto, members of the government-in-exile and also wounded fighters for treatment at the hospitals in Leopoldville; and in conducting a combat medics course in Israel. Yufa concluded,

"According to my estimation, we financially support with an amount close to US$30,000 per year," and suggested building a relationship with the competing MPLA movement as well. Dozens of other telegrams from the 1960s describe how Israel also financed Roberto's offices and activities in African capitals and helped finance the studies and stay of his family members in Europe, in the purchase of uniforms for his fighters and in the purchase of textbooks and other humanitarian equipment for the Angolan refugees.

According to dozens of telegrams, in those years Israeli embassies around the world met with the leadership of the main rival movement, the MPLA, and also gave it medicine and a few financial donations, but the ties did not deepen for fear that this would harm Israel's good relations with Roberto. It was not just a question of political tension, but in parallel to the fight to end the colonialist regime of Portugal, the liberation movements fought each other.

For example, in a telegram dated December 19, 1961, that the First Secretary at the Israeli Embassy in Brazzaville (the capital of the Republic of the Congo) Reuven Hillel sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, he reported that one of the MPLA activists had arrived at the embassy and said that relations between the two movements had worsened to the extreme. Roberto's men arrested about 20 of the MPLA fighters, "they were held in custody and their guards awaited orders on Roberto's behalf. Roberto ordered that they all be executed and they were slaughtered."

The Israeli press also reported on the violence between the movements. For example, in a report in the 'Herut' newspaper dated March 23, 1962, it was written "Angola rebels are killing each other". The 'LaMerhav' newspaper reported on March 30, 1962, about a "civil war in Angola".

In addition, a series of telegrams from the 1960s documented meetings between the Israeli embassies and the UNITA movement, and in particular between the ambassador to Zambia Ben Zion Tachan and its leader Dr. Jonas Savimbi. Ambassador Tachan reminded him that Israel supports Roberto's movement. In addition, since there were reports of Dr. Savimbi's pro-Arab statements, according to a telegram dated July 23, 1967, sent by the Deputy Director of the Africa Department Lu-Leah Kader to the embassy in Kinshasa (formerly Leopoldville), UNITA was put on Israel's "blacklist".

Israeli weapons in the hands of all parties

In view of the growing competition between the Angolan liberation movements, in the following years Israel changed its mind and decided to provide military training and weapons to Roberto's forces. On May 17, 1966, in response to a question in the Knesset as to whether Israel trains fighters from liberation movements in Angola, the director of the Africa Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moshe Leshem, replied that Israel only provides humanitarian aid to Angolan refugees and the liberation movements and does not train Angolan fighters or from other Portuguese colonies.

A week before, on May 10, Israel's ambassador to the Ivory Coast, Eitan Ron, reported to the Mossad and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, that in a meeting he held with Roberto's emissary, he asked to approve a "course in Israel on security." In response the ambassador suggested as a "simpler solution" that the training would be held in the Congo in "a course at the local school which will be run by our instructors".

The proposal came true, and in a telegram sent on October 17, 1969, by the Israeli ambassador to Tanzania Shimon Mort to the Africa Department, he reported that the Congolese ambassador there told him that he had spoken with Roberto and he told him that his men were "participating together with the Congolese military men in their training by Israeli instructors."

In a telegram dated March 20, 1969, sent by the ambassador in Kinshasa (formerly, Leopoldville) Haim Yaari to the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moshe Bitan, he reported that Roberto had again requested arms and ammunition, on the grounds that the competing liberation movement, the MPLA, "which is relaying on the socialist countries, enjoys serious assistance in weapons and ammunition, while he who relies on the West and the moderate countries in Africa suffers from a shortage."

Roberto added that he must send 1,500 fighters to the territory of Angola soon. "These people are trained and ready, but they are not able to fight with empty hands", therefore Roberto suggested that this will be done through a third party, "an African country with which both parties maintain a relationship of trust and friendship."

In a telegram dated March 27 that the Director of the Africa Department Hanan Aynor sent to Deputy Director Bitan, he recommended accepting the request on the condition that Congolese ruler Mobutu Sese Seko agrees to be the third party. Aynor explained, "Roberto himself and his movement have been well known to me for years. He is the only person in the camp of the militant liberation movements who has been in sympathetic contact with us for almost 9 years. Through him we have a foothold in the Liberation Committee of the Organization of African Unity and the African underground movements."

In a telegram sent on July 11, 1969, by the acting director of the Africa Department, Haim Raphael, to the head of the office of the director general of the Ministry, he wrote that Mobutu had given his consent and therefore it was decided to use him to transfer to Roberto for "guerrilla warfare" 150 Sten submachine guns, 80 additional English rifles and "20,000 bullets for each kind of gun". In a series of telegrams, it was written that the shipment was transported by Israeli ship as a shipment to the Congolese military, but it had a separate bill of lading, a copy of which was given by the Israeli embassy in Kinshasa to Roberto so that he could collect the weapons himself.

Israeli weapons did not reach Angola only through direct shipments from Israel. In July 1965, the Israeli Embassy in Paris and the Israeli Consulate in Lisbon reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem that the local television broadcasts about the war in Angola showed Uzi submachine guns "in the hands of the rebels and also in the hands of Portuguese soldiers".

How did the Uzis get to Angola? As early as 1961, the British 'Observer' newspaper reported that West Germany sold Portugal about 10,000 Uzi submachine guns that the former had purchased from Israel. On June 4, 1961, the Israeli government denied this report and in a statement released to the media claimed that also the German Foreign Ministry denied that the Uzis were sold to Portugal, and that "Israel will not sell weapons to a country fighting to maintain its colonial rule." On November 29 of the same year, the government also repeated this in the Knesset.

Not only was the use of Uzis in Angola documented and published on television broadcasts and in the press in Europe, in a telegram sent on October 17, 1966, by Israel's ambassador in Brazzaville, Haim Raphael, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, he reported that the leader of the MPLA, Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto, invited to his office the second secretary at the embassy, Asher HaKini, where he presented him an Uzi submachine gun that was captured from Portuguese soldiers and had a serial number and markings that proved it was made in Israel.

In a telegram dated January 4, 1967, that Israel's envoy to the UN in New York, Shlomo Hillel, sent to Deputy Director Bitan, he wrote that he met at the UN with Dr. Neto and "the fact that the Angolan rebels have Uzis supposedly captured from the Portuguese soldiers, complicates the matter and requires us to carefully consider our steps." Hillel added that Dr. Neto "repeated to me that he was shocked by the fact that their men had captured such Uzis" and that the Portuguese officers arrested by them admitted that they were receiving the Uzis from the Germans.

In response, on February 17, 1967, the director of the Africa Department, Moshe Leshem, wrote to Hillel that "our inquiries revealed that the German government indeed sold Uzis to Portugal, that were supplied by us in 1960... it is impossible to know for sure how many Uzis are in the hands of the Portuguese soldiers in Angola." He expressed hope that "the people of the MPLA are wise enough to understand that the producer is not the seller."

Creating the alliance with the MPLA

In April 1974, the " Carnation Revolution" took place which overthrew the military and dictatorial regime in Portugal. Angola managed to free itself from Portugal and the MPLA movement became the ruling party. But then a murderous civil war began between the Angolan liberation movements.

According to the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for South Africa, the apartheid regime, of which Israel was a major arms supplier, wanted to establish a "puppet regime" in Angola, or at least a neutral regime that would not harm its interests. In 1975, South Africa invaded Angola, and established a "security strip" about 18 km deep and 1,000 km long of the border between the countries at the time. In addition, South Africa periodically conquered additional territories in Angola in various military operations.

The wars waged by the apartheid regime in Angola and neighboring Namibia were intertwined - the fighters of the Namibian Liberation Movement (SWAPO) used the territory of Angola as a base for their war of independence from South Africa. South Africa supported the war in Angola of the murderous UNITA movement, so that it would replace the MPLA government, and at the same time the South African security forces themselves fought the Namibian Liberation Movement (SWAPO) fighters in Angola, sabotaged civilian infrastructure, destroyed entire towns and villages, and did everything in their power to harm the possibility of actual independence for both countries.

Throughout the territory in Angola that was under the control of South Africa, the local residents suffered constant terror from the security forces. The South African security forces would break into homes, loot the property, beat or kill the men and sometimes rape the women. In a review prepared by Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 31, 1980, it was written that UNITA's operational activity in southern Angola "is carried out in close cooperation with the South African military".

In addition to the fact that most of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' files regarding Angola are still confidential, in 1969 it was decided to transfer the responsibility for liaison with the liberation movements in Angola from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Mossad. Therefore, there is almost no declassified information in the Foreign Ministry files about Israeli involvement in Angola in the 1970s and 1980s.

Among the few declassified telegrams, is documentation for the UN Secretary General's announcement that the South African military killed approximately 570 Angolan soldiers and civilians and wounded 694 between March 1976 and June 1979. In a telegram sent on February 14, 1979, by A. Milo from the Israeli embassy in London to the Africa Department, he reported that a UNITA representative to Europe called Antonio Fernandes contacted the embassy and asked to discuss the possibilities of military procurement and other transactions.

In a telegram dated June 11, 1986, sent by the counselor at the Israeli Embassy in Pretoria (the capital of South Africa) Meir Gonen to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, he reported that the Angola Press Agency announced that South Africa had used Israeli "Reshef" battleships and Israeli-made missiles to destroy oil facilities.

In addition to the fact that Israel armed and trained the South African security forces, already during the 1980s claims were made that in coordination with the Reagan administration and in secret Israel also directly supported UNITA. For example, in a telegram dated June 16, 1987, that the congressional liaison in Washington DC Tova Herzl sent to the Africa Department in Jerusalem, she asked for instructions on how to respond to the assistant of the chairman of the Committee on African Affairs in the US House of Representatives, Congressman Howard Wolpe, who wanted to find out with her "whether in the early 80s, the CIA asked Israel to help UNITA to circumvent the congressional ban from 1976 on direct or indirect aid to the rebels in Angola".

Following the death of Dr. Neto in a medical operation in 1979, José Eduardo Dos Santos was appointed President of Angola and leader of the MPLA. In the mid-1980s he held secret talks with the US to establish relations between the two countries and to remove Cuban forces from Angola. In May 1987, President Dos Santos contacted the Israeli government through his confidant who was a former commander in the Portuguese army, and also with the help of an Israeli who was involved in defense exports, and asked to approve the arrival in Israel of a delegation led by the commander of the Angolan Air Force for the purpose of discussing the purchase of military equipment.

On June 7, 1987, a meeting was held with the participation of representatives of the Mossad and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense. According to the summary of the meeting, some representatives of the Mossad and the Ministry of Defense opposed the arrival of the Angolan delegation due to the "complexity of the relations with South Africa" and since "such a move could also damage our relations with the US, which is known to support the Dr. Savimbi [leader of UNITA], the opponent of the regime."

The director of Tevel, the international wing of the Mossad who was responsible for Israel's diplomatic relations with countries with which it does not have official relations, claimed that the issue is controversial between the State Department and the White House in the US and "we should not get between the legs of the Americans". On September 9, 1987, it was decided at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to postpone the arrival of the delegation but to meet with the Portuguese confidant of President Dos Santos.

On October 11, 1987, a meeting was held between Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and the Portuguese confidant, with the participation of the Israeli defense exporter. The Portuguese delivered a message from President Dos Santos, that at the same time as he is establishing relations with the US, the possibility of including Israel in the process arose out of the need for military equipment and with the aim of breaking away from exclusive dependence on the USSR, so that Angola could deal independently with the UNITA forces.

According to the Portuguese, Angola has already reduced the Cuban presence and as for the Russians, "they have a technical-professional presence but are more racist than the South Africans". To Minister Peres' question, if Angola is willing to expel all Cubans if the US gives guarantees that South Africa will not take advantage of the opportunity to take over the country, the Portuguese replied, "Certainly." In response, Minister Peres said, "I do not believe that South Africa will invade. It does not lack territory. In the eyes of the heads of government there, they lack white people and not black land. Therefore, I am thinking how it is possible to reach such a thing that will free Angola for tremendous development. Replace Cubans in diamonds."

The Portuguese made it clear that Angola wants Israel to consider selling it military equipment that is prohibited according to the American embargo. At the end of the meeting, Minister Peres said, "We will think and respond. If there is an opportunity - we will talk with Shultz [US Secretary of State] but without committing. We have a busy agenda."

The establishment of diplomatic relations

According to a review by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated May 14, 1992, only in the early 1990s the negotiations between Israel and Angola progressed. This is thanks to a series of meetings between the representatives of the two countries. Among other things, an Israeli delegation to Angola (October 1991) which included representatives of military industry companies and met with President Dos Santos, and an Angolan delegation to Israel (December 1991), which included the deputy minister of the interior and the commissioner of the police.

Angola asked for military assistance and a reorganization of the local police, and offered in return to sell oil to Israel. On April 16, 1992, an agreement was signed in New York on the establishment of relations between the two countries. The Israeli journalist Tamar Golan, who covered Israel involvement in Africa for decades, was appointed to be the first Israeli ambassador in Luanda.

In a separate review by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepared by Deputy Director Uri Savir, also dated May 14, 1992, regarding the new transactions with Angola, were details of transactions with a total value of tens of millions of dollars regarding vocational training for military veterans, ammunition for small arms, personal equipment and anti-riot equipment for the police, and police vehicles that were necessary "To ensure order in the upcoming elections".

Since then, according to Yossi Melman, Israel has become a major arms supplier to Angola and in return has purchased oil and diamonds from it. President Dos Santos became a dictator and served consecutively until he decided not to run in the elections held in August 2017 (he died a month later). The war with UNITA ended already in 2002, but instead of "replacing Cubans with diamonds", as Minister Peres suggested, the country rich in natural resources became one of the most corrupt in the world, with about 40 percent of the population living below the poverty line.

According to Forbes magazine, President Dos Santos' daughter Isabel became a billionaire with a fortune of 3 billion dollars. After her father's death, part of her fortune was frozen and international investigations were opened against her. Her half-brother, Jose Filomeno, who headed the "wealth fund" worth $5 billion from oil profits, was convicted of stealing $500 million.

Despite the creaking from time to time in relations between the two countries, including negligible "sanctions" imposed by Prime Minister Netanyahu on Angola following its vote in the UN Security Council in December 2016 in favor of a resolution condemning the settlements - the arms, diamond and oil business continued as usual.

As the telegrams of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs show since the 1960s, the policy of the State of Israel in Angola was always to promote Israeli interests. Issues of corruption, human rights or political ideology were lower on the list of priorities, if were considered at all.