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 Israel |  Myanmar |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Israel in Yangon | Embassy of Myanmar in Tel Aviv |
| Envoy | |
| AmbassadorDov Segev-Steinberg | Ambassador Maung Maung Lynn |
Israel–Myanmar relations (Hebrew:יחסי ישראל–מיאנמר;Burmese:အစ္စရေး-မြန်မာ ဆက်ဆံရေး) refers to thebilateral relations between Israel andMyanmar (formerlyBurma), established in 1953.[1] Myanmar was one of the first countries in Asia and the first country inSoutheast Asia to recognise the State of Israel.[2] Today, the countries cooperate in the fields of agriculture, health and education.[1] Israel has an embassy inYangon, and Myanmar has an embassy inTel Aviv. Myanmardoes not recognise theState of Palestine.
Jewish merchants began arriving in Burma underBritish colonial rule in the 19th century where they were able to flourish in Burma's former capital ofRangoon, a city renowned as a center of ethnic and religious diversity. During this time, theMusmeah Yeshua Synagogue was built and remains as the last Jewishhouse of worship inDowntown Yangon, and Burma's only synagogue. During theSecond World War the vast majority of Jews in the area fled after theJapanese invasion of Burma.[3]
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Burma and Israel shared a number of similar characteristics, which some scholars believe was a motivating factor of their early establishment of relations. For example, both countries were nations that had gained independence from Britain in 1948 and hadsocial democratic regimes initially led by charismatic figures likeU Nu andDavid Ben-Gurion. Additionally, both countries were born into conflict, with Burma facing ethnic and communist insurgencies soon after independence, followed by theincursion of Chinese nationalist Kuomintang troops into Shan State while Israel faced the1948 Arab-Israeli War when amilitary coalition of Arab states invaded the recently declared state of Israel.[3]
Close ties existed between the two countries as early as the 1950s. They were initiated by the Minister of Cooperation and general secretary of theBurma Socialist Party (BSP),Kyaw Nyein who led a high-level Burmese delegation toIsrael in 1952. Kyaw Nyein considered Israel a kindred country with asocial democratic party in power and was interested in its expertise in arms production and co-operative agriculture communities,Kibbutzim. Following the visit of Kyaw Nyein and responding to the latter's invitation, Israel's Foreign MinisterMoshe Sharett visited Burma to attend theAsian Socialist Conference in Rangoon in 1953, and diplomatic relations were eventually established between the two countries withDavid Hacohen appointed first Israeli ambassador to Burma in December 1953.[4] Kyaw Nyein's Israel initiatives led to a friendlier pro-Israel attitude by Burma's United Nations delegation and marked the beginning of mutual visits in military, economic and other fields.[5] In May 1955, whenU Nu, Burma's first Prime Minister since the country gained independence, travelled to Israel, it was the first visit of an Asian head of government to the Jewish state. Very sympathetic towards Israel, U Nu extended and deepened the diplomatic relations and cooperation between the two countries. During his visit, he toured severalkibbutzim and later established several similar settlements inShan State.[6]
Various prominent Israeli figures visitedRangoon in the 1960s includingShimon Peres,Moshe Dayan,Yitzhak Ben-Zvi andGolda Meir. In 1961 the first Prime Minister of Israel,David Ben-Gurion, visited Burma. Intending to make a positive impression on the locals, he attended official functions wearingtraditional Burmese dress including traditional headgear calledgaung baung.[7] During his trip, the Israeli Prime Minister studiedBuddhism at aspiritual retreat at U Nu's residence, showing both his unique affinity for Buddhism and strong friendship with U Nu.[8]
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[Thank you] for the personal friendship which binds you and me with ties of love. May you continue to guide your people toward economic, social, and cultural progress. This is your historic mission.
— Your friend and brother, David Ben-Gurion.[7]
After the1962 Burmese coup d'état by theTatmadaw, Prime Minister U Nu was placed in detention and replaced by GeneralNe Win. Ne Win overthrew the democraticUnion Parliament of U Nu and established Burma as aone-partysocialist state. With his rule, Ne Win brought significantisolationism to Burma, shutting its doors to the outside world, including Israel to a degree, whose relations waned to just militaryarms trade. Even so, theEmbassy of Israel in Yangon andEmbassy of Myanmar in Tel Aviv remained open, and Israeli officials continued to make occasional visits to Burma.
Although the relations between Myanmar and Israel never returned to their pre-1962 levels of warmth, they improved from 1988 onwards and remained relatively strong throughout the 21st century. In addition to security cooperation through the sales of arms, the Israeli government, within the framework of theIsrael Forum for International Humanitarian Aid (IsraAid), trains Myanmar government officials. Delegations from Myanmar come to Israel for training, mainly in the fields of agriculture, and Israel provides scientific support and advanced technological solutions to Myanmar.[1] From the 1950s to 1990s, Israel exported assault rifles, submachine guns, artillery, UAV systems, and upgraded fighter jets to Myanmar.[9][10] After Western sanctions on Myanmar post-1988, Israel filled the arms-export gap to the military junta.[11]
Israel has also, however, consistently expressed support for former opposition leader and state counsellorAung San Suu Kyi.[12] In November 2010, following her release from house arrest, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement welcoming her freedom and hoping it would lead to democratisation and national reconciliation in Myanmar.[13] In February 2021, after the military coup in Myanmar, Israel called for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other detained leaders, reaffirming its support for Myanmar's democratic process.[14]
In September 2015,Min Aung Hlaing, then commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s armed forces visited Israel. He toured Israeli defence manufacturers, inspected naval bases and placed orders for FAC Super Dvora Mk III patrol boats.[15]
In a 2016 interview with a local news website in Myanmar, former Israeli ambassador to Myanmar Daniel Zonshine described the ties between the state of Israel and Myanmar as "good and friendly, with the potential to be even better and friendlier."[16] Maung Maung Lynn, the ambassador of Myanmar gave his credentials to presidentReuven Rivlin in August 2016. The ambassador's daughter is attendingInterdisciplinary Center Herzliya and is the first Burmese student at that campus.[17]
At the beginning of 1954, a Burmese procurement delegation arrived in Israel. Following the visit, arms deals were signed between the countries. In March 1954, Israel transferred 30Spitfires to Burma (after they had been replaced byGloster Meteor jets in theIsraeli Air Force) and trained 6 Burmese pilots in Israel.[18] and in September 1954 a technical delegation of the Israeli Air Force went to Burma to help train local technicians in the maintenance of the planes. The deal also included the sale ofcannons,machine guns andammunition for aircraft in a deal whose scope was about US$1,000,000. Another deal included the sale of 30,000rifles and Israeli military delegations that helped in the fields ofmilitary medicine, the organisation of theparachuting school, and more.[19]
Immediately after themilitary coup in 1988, aEuropean embargo was imposed on Myanmar, which was later joined by the United States. The junta, which was looking for new weapons suppliers for the Burmese army and police, turned to Israel. In August 1989, two ships arrived in Myanmar. They were loaded withEastern European weapons that included 55 mmanti-tank missiles and 40 mmgrenade launchers. The ships, which sailed under the Belgian and Singaporean flags, transferred weapons that Israel captured inLebanon during theFirst Lebanon War after the withdrawal of thePalestinian forces, and sold them to Myanmar.[19]
In 1991, an Israeli security delegation visited Myanmar and sold 500Uzi submachine guns for use by the junta's special security forces. Also, in the early 1990s, the Myanmar army began producingassault rifles similar to the IsraeliIMI Galil assault rifle, called theMA-1 family, which was a clone with modifications made for localised conditions. In August 1997, the Israeli companyElbit won a tender for the improvement of 36fighter planes of the Myanmar army.Elbit provided advancednavigation systems,night vision devices, andlaser-guided bombs of various models. A year later, 12 more planes were upgraded by Elbit and supplied with Israeliair-to-air missiles. In 1998, the Myanmar army purchased 16 155 mmcannons manufactured by Soltam Systems, which were apparently transferred through Singapore.[20]
In response to thepersecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar starting in 2016, there were calls to refrain from selling arms from Israel to Myanmar. In September 2017, a petition against Israeli arms sales to Myanmar over human rights violations against theRohingya minority was brought before theSupreme Court of Israel. The Supreme Court's ruling on the case was subjected to a gag order.[21][22]
During the2021 Myanmar coup d'état and subsequentprotests, a number of Israeli companies were accused of continuing to help the Myanmar junta acquire modern weapons that eventually were used to suppress protesters, despite the fact that Israel had imposed a lethalembargo since 2018.[23]
Despite their historical close relations, the two nations disagreed on some topics. In 1956,U Nu publicly distanced himself from Israel over theSuez Canal crisis. The Burmese leader condemned Israel andWestern powers, including the United Kingdom and France, and backed the United Nations’ calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops fromEgypt.[3]
On the other hand, Israel has, on several occasions, expressed support for pro-democracy activistAung San Suu Kyi, the leading opposition to the Myanmar military junta.[24]
In response to theIsrael-Gaza war in 2023, the military junta called for the "relevant parties to exercise restraint and to resolve the issue peacefully"[25] which received criticism by the international community who pointed to the junta's treatment of its own civilians. In one example, an airstrike on a crowd of civilians was condemned by the United Nations in 2023.[26]
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