Liberian president gets Friends of Zion Award, eyes Jerusalem embassy

Liberian President George Weah received the Friends of Zion award Wednesday afternoon at the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem as his country weighs how to move forward on plans to open an embassy in Israel’s capital city.

Weah, who received the award given to world leaders who “have gone above and beyond” for the state of Israel, has met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Eli Cohen during his visit to Israel this week. 

During his meetings, discussions were held about the intention of Liberia to open a trade office that will become an embassy in Jerusalem.  Weah spokesman Isaac Solo Kegbeh told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday that the government is moving toward establishing the embassy. 

“We have directed the Minister of Foreign Affairs to work out all the necessary mechanisms so that we can have an ambassador,” Kegbeh said. He added that it will not happen “tomorrow, or today,” but in the “shortest possible time.” 

Opening the Jerusalem embassy is a “means of protocol, a way of realizing the relationship that exists between the two countries and to get quick access to a lot of things,” Kegbeh added. 

Kegbeh also said that the president will “talk to some of his friends” in the region to encourage them to establish embassies in Jerusalem, which would be a “good thing to do.”

He noted that many West African nations stand to benefit from increased cooperation, highlighting how Israel’s technological investment into Liberia has added value to its cash crop production. 

A long history of friendship between Liberia and Israel

Israeli Ambassador Shlomit Sufa to Liberia, Ghana, and Sierra-Leone, who attended the event, declined to comment about a possible Liberian embassy in Jerusalem, but said that relations between Liberia and Israel are “very good, very close.”

The Friends of Zion award is “just another way of saying thank you to Liberia for a lot of help that we received from it.” 

In accepting the award, Weah said, “The friendship between Israel and Liberia is not confined to mere words. I am deeply honored to be recognized alongside other world leaders and diplomats who have voiced unwavering support for the State of Israel and solidarity with the Jewish people today.”

Cohen presented Weah with the award, and spoke on the historic ties between the two nations. “Liberia was one of the two states in Africa to support the establishment of Israel in 1947,” he said. “We will never forget that support, not just in 1947 but also these days in the United Nations and African Union.”

Cohen’s address was followed by a pre-recorded message from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke on the history of strong Jewish-Christian relations. 

Liberia broke off ties with Israel after the Yom Kippur War in 1973 but reestablished diplomatic ties with the Jewish state only in 1983. Neither country, however, has opened an embassy. 

Last year, Liberia joined some 13 countries that have pledged to open an embassy in Jerusalem. It also plans to join some 15 countries that have opened diplomatic offices in Israel’s capital.

Most of the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and has therefore located their embassies in the Tel Aviv area. To date only four countries have opened full embassies in Jerusalem: the United States, Guatemala, Honduras and Kosovo.