User:AlexandreAssatiani/sandbox/Israel

Georgia-Israel relations

Georgia	Israel
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of Georgia, Tel Aviv	Embassy of Israel, Tbilisi
Envoy
Ambassador Lasha Zhvania	Ambassador Hadas Meitzad

Historical background

History of the Georgian Jewish community

Both Georgian and Israeli nations have ancient histories dating back to the Bronze Age, although little is known about the potential trade or political ties between their respective states. Early Georgian states that developed during the existence of the Kingdom of Israel include Colchis, Diaokhi, and Tabal, though no archaeological or historiographical evidence points out to any relations. Biblical mythology developed by medieval Georgian, Armenian, and Byzantine authors claim that the Bagrationi royal dynasty of Georgia, which would rule over the country until the 19th century, descended from Jeconiah, one of the last kings of Judah.

According to medieval accounts, the first Jewish presence in Georgia dates back to the early 6th century BCE, when the Neo-Babylonian capture of Jerusalem led to an exodus and thousands of Jews settling in the South Caucasus, where the Mamasakhlisi of Mtskheta (a title granted to the most powerful tribal leader in central Georgia at the time) agreed to grant them lands along the Aragvi River. Several other waves of Jewish migration to Georgia can be found in contemporary sources, including in the 1st century following the destruction of Jerusalem by Vespasian and in the 6th century when thousands of Jews found refuge in Western Georgia to escape Byzantine persecutions.

This early presence of Jews on Georgian territory has become used by political leaders in both countries to underline the ancient nature of Georgia and Israel. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili talked in 2020 of the "26-century relations of the two nations" and used this as a central argument to a campaign to add "Georgian Tolerance" to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Meanwhile, President Reuben Rivlin has claimed that "Georgia is the only European country that owes Israel no apology."

Though Jews enjoyed a large level of freedom under Georgian rulers, they were susceptible to persecutions during foreign invasions. In the 13th century, most Jewish communities moved to Western Georgia to flee the Mongol invasions. Under constant pressure from subsequent Ottoman and Safavid invasions, many settled in the Racha region, isolated from the rest of Georgia because of its high mountains, though thousands were forcibly relocated to Persia. In 1835, an estimated 12,000 Jews lived in the South Caucasus, mostly around the cities of Kutaisi and Gori. Russian imperialist policies in the region promoted anti-Semitism in the 19th century and hundreds made aliyah to British Palestine.

• Soviet repressions
• Emigration
• There are 120,000 Georgian Jews living in Israel, as well as 13,000 in Georgia.

Georgia in the Holy Land

• Participation in the First Crusade
• Georgia and the Crusaders
• Religious ties till the 17th century

History of diplomatic relations

Recognition and early relations

• Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Eduard Shevardnadze
• Diplomatic relations were formally established on June 1, 1992, alongside establishing diplomatic relations with the US.
• June 17-19, 1995 - Eduard Shevardnadze visited Israel.
• January 13-14, 1998 - Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze visited Israel.
• November 29 - December 4, 1998 - Parliament Speaker Zurab Zhvania visited Israel.
• January 5-7, 2000 - Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze visited Israel.
• January 20-23, 2003 - State Minister of Georgia Avtandil Zorbenadze visited Georgia.
• June 23-27, 2003 - Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Nino Burjanadze visited Israel.
• October 26-29, 2003 - Georgian Foreign Minister Irakli Managarashvili visited Israel.
• September 7-11, 1998 - Moshe Katsav visited Georgia.
• March 22, 1999 - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Georgia.
• January 25-26, 2001 - Israeli President Moshe Katsav visited Georgia.

Russo-Georgian War

• Saakashvili presidency
• During the 2008 Russo-Georgian war, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Israel "recognized the territorial integrity of Georgia and called for a peaceful solution."
• On 15 August 2008, Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv in support of Georgia by forming a human chain and demanding that the Israeli government increase its support for Georgia.
• In the buildup to the war it was feared that this would anger Russia and cause it to retaliate by sending advanced systems to its allies in Iran and Syria, which could end in the hands of Hezbollah.
• In February 2008 the sale of weapons and offensive equipment to Georgia was banned by the Israeli government, freezing a sale of Merkava tanks to Georgia.
• On August 10th, following the outbreak of the war, the Foreign Ministry even recommended to the Defense Ministry to ban all sales of any military equipment to Georgia.
• Following the war, Israeli entrepreneurs represented the biggest share of investors helping to rebuild destroyed infrastructure, receiving 35% of all Georgian government contracts as of January 2009.
• Le 13 février 2012, une bombe placée sous la voiture d'un membre de l'ambassade israélienne à Tbilissi est désamorcée par les autorités géorgiennes avant qu'elle n'ait pu exploser, attentat qui aurait été planifié par le Hezbollah et l'Iran
• July 28-29, 2004 - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili left for Israel on a working visit.
• October 31-November 1, 2006 - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili left for Israel on a working visit.
• October 22-24, 2007 - Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili visited Israel.
• May 14-15, 2008 - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili left for Israel.
• Georgian television broadcast sympathetic news reports about Israel and distributed publicity brochures on Israel’s behalf in some schools. (https://besacenter.org/georgia-relations-israel-us/)

Relations since 2012

• Under Georgian Dream
• On 20 November 2012, during the IDF's Operation Pillar of Defense in the Gaza Strip, there was a large demonstration in support of Israel in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
• In 2012, Archil (Abesalom) Kekelia was appointed Georgian ambassador to Israel. His two major missions are to regain a foothold in the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem, which was taken over by the Greek Orthodox church 300 years ago, and promote economic ties with Israel.
• A Georgian delegation including Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and Defense Minister Irakli Alasania visited Israel in June 2013 with an apparent intention to renew military cooperation and acquire defensive weapons such as drones and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.
• In 2018, the two countries signed counterterrorism and cybersecurity cooperation agreements.
• In December 2018, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotoveli was invited to the inauguration ceremony of the newly elected President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili . Hotoveli had meetings with the president, as well as the head of the organization Mamuka Bakhtadze and the minister of foreign affairs Davit Zalkaliani
• May 1, 2018 - Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria left for Israel. During the visit, he met with his Israeli colleague Avigdor Lieberman in Tel Aviv. During the meeting, issues of cooperation in the spheres of security, bilateral relations, military and political situation of the world were discussed. At the end of the meeting, a memorandum of understanding was signed

Framework

Political and diplomatic

• Multilateral format
• Relations largely driven by the US. BASE: The cooperation among the Georgia-US-Israel triangle is based on common values like reverence for democracy and individualism. A further connection that is unique to Israel and Georgia is that both are on the Asian continent but largely affiliate with Europe. (https://besacenter.org/georgia-relations-israel-us/)

Economy and migration

• Circular migration
• Tourism
• Investments
• Trade
• The non-governmental Israel-Georgia Chamber of Commerce was established in 1996 to support the growth of bilateral commercial, tourism and cultural relations.
• In 2010, Israel and Georgia signed bilateral agreements in the sphere of tourism and air traffic.
• In October 2010, Georgian Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Vera Kobalia visited Israel.
• Israeli backpackers began visiting Georgia in the 1990s and Georgia has become a popular destination for Israelis due to its proximity, cultural ties and relative inexpensiveness.
• In 2017, over 115,000 Israelis visited Georgia.
• En 2010, Israël et la Géorgie ont signé des accords bilatéraux relatifs au tourisme et au trafic aérien.
• Israeli Wiki has trade data
• In May 2018, the Minister of Trade of Israel, Eli Cohen, went to Georgia on an official visit. There he met his colleague Dmitry Kumsishvili. The statesmen jointly signed a memorandum to study the expediency of declaring free trade between the two countries

Culture

• On March 9, 2010, an Israeli film festival was organized at the Georgian Film House under the auspices of the Israeli Embassy. It was held from March 9 to 16, 2010. The following films were screened within the framework of the festival: "Waltz with Bashir" (animated film by Ari Follman), "The Star of Shlomi" (Shemi Zarkhin), "Rutenberg" (Eli Cohen), "Columbian Love" (Shai Canot), "Kedma" (Amos Hitai), "Beaufort" (Yosef Sedar), "Turn left from the end of the world" (Avi Nesher).

Military and security

• Kezerashvili case
• In the years leading up to the war, Israel had sold a significant amount of military equipment to Georgia, including Elbit drones (4 of which were shot down by Russia in the 2008 war), Rafael anti-tank missiles, Ta'as mortar and ammunition, and Soviet-made equipment captured from Arab armies.
• Israel has engaged in extensive military cooperation with Georgia.
• Israel sold Georgia armored vehicles and small arms, and Israeli special forces and private contractors have trained Georgian troops.
• Israel sold Georgia its fleet of UAVs, LAR-160 rocket launchers, anti-tank mines, and cluster bombs.
• On 5 August 2008, it was reported by Stratfor and Russia Today that Israel planned to halt all arms sales to Georgia due to Russian "barely hidden threats", as worded by Russia Today.
• This was denied at the time by Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Iakobashvili.
• Israel continued to train Georgian security forces, though on a more limited scale.
• A Georgian delegation including Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and Defense Minister Irakli Alasania visited Israel in June 2013 with an apparent intention to renew military cooperation and acquire defensive weapons such as drones and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.
• In 2018, the two countries signed counterterrorism and cybersecurity cooperation agreements.

Controversy

Arrest of Ronny Fuchs

• On October 14, 2010, Israeli businessmen Zeev Frankel and Rony Fuchs were arrested in Georgia, accused of offering a bribe of 7 million dollars to the Deputy Minister of Finance, Avtandil Haraidze. The conflict was related to the demand of Fuchs' company, that is, a demand of 100 million dollars from the government of Georgia for transfers made in advance. Fuchs was sentenced to 7 and Frenkel to 6.5 years in prison by the Tbilisi court. This incident caused tension in the relations between the two countries

Diplomatic representations

Georgian missions to Israel

• After US President Donald Trump 's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Georgian parliament member Shota Shalelashvili, a member of the ruling party, offered to support the US president's proposal
• Moving the embassy was discussed during the DEputy FM's visit to Georgia for Zourabichvili's inauguration

References

• Wikipedia + Sources
• Civil.ge
• Agenda.ge
• Georgian official sites (President, PM, Ministries, Parliament)
• Israeli official sites
• Historical research
• OC Media
• JamNews
• DFWatch
• Google searches