{"id":14914,"date":"2025-11-10T08:22:56","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T06:22:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhb-webdevelopers\/channelafrica\/news\/israels-president-begins-landmark-african-tour-with-visits-to-drc-zambia\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:27:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:27:19","slug":"israels-president-begins-landmark-african-tour-with-visits-to-drc-zambia","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/israels-president-begins-landmark-african-tour-with-visits-to-drc-zambia\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s President begins landmark African tour with visits to DRC, Zambia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Israel\u2019s President Isaac Herzog has set out on a rare diplomatic tour of Africa, visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>His visit marks the first time an Israeli head of state has travelled to Zambia, highlighting Israel\u2019s aim to strengthen relationships across the continent.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The tour comes as African nations gain strategic significance in areas such as security, technology, energy, and agriculture. In Lusaka and Kinshasa, Herzog is expected to meet with both Presidents to discuss economic ties, security collaboration, and Israel\u2019s broader engagement in Africa.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Political analyst Professor Bheki Mngomezulu said the trip reflects Israel\u2019s effort to rebuild international relationships following global criticism over its actions in Palestine. He explained that Israel is pursuing a combination of religious and economic diplomacy, while seeking security and trade partnerships, particularly in mineral-rich countries like the DRC and Zambia.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mngomezulu also pointed out that the visit could highlight divisions among African nations, noting that historical, religious, and geopolitical factors shape differing stances on Israel. \u201cAfrican countries are not unified on Israel, and this trip may intensify existing differences,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The tour is expected to influence Israel\u2019s diplomatic presence in Africa and could have wider implications for regional political and economic relations.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14915,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-14914","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Israel\u2019s President Isaac Herzog has set out on a rare diplomatic tour of Africa","published_date":"2025-11-10 10:22:34","news_description":"Israel\u2019s President Isaac Herzog has set out on a rare diplomatic tour of Africa","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19370,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14914\/revisions\/19370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=14914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}