Arms, Israel and South Africa

The agreement of Israel to suspend arms shipments to South Africa comes in response to heavy American pressure and as a result of the sanctions legislation adopted by the U.S. Congress last year over the veto of President Reagan. It is an important decision and a further demonstration of the value of that legislation.

Officially, Israel accepted the mandatory embargo on arms shipments to South Africa adopted in 1977 by the U.N. Security Council. Indeed, the official position of Israel today is that it is not selling arms to South Africa. But under the investigation of international arms shipments to South Africa required by Congress, evidence of a continued flow of arms from Israel was uncovered. As a result, Israel faced a cutoff of U.S. military supplies and possibly other aid.

Israeli officials hope that Congress will permit Israel to fulfill over the next three years the terms of previously negotiated arms contracts with Pretoria without the loss of American aid. That is a concession that will not be easy for Congress to make because, under the emergency regulations now in effect in South Africa, any arms reaching South African government forces are inevitably used in the brutal repression of the black majority.

Israel has had a difficult time striking a balance in relations with South Africa. There is empathy in part because of the substantial Jewish population in South Africa. But the history of Israel, born of Jews seeking their homeland in the face of terrible persecution, makes the racism of South Africa the more repugnant to all Israelis. This is complicated by the fact that Israel’s arms industry is one of the healthiest and most profitable elements of an otherwise weak economy, and some estimates suggest that to cut off arms sales to South Africa would imperil the jobs of thousands.

There are no figures measuring the flow of arms to South Africa from Israel. There is evidence that the flow of arms continues from other nations as well, despite the U.N. embargo. The full report on the clandestine flow will help the international community enforce the cutoff more effectively.