[6] The alignment between Ethiopia and Israel during the mid-20th century was largely driven by common strategic concerns, particularly the shared threat posed by Nasserist Egypt.

Even before formal diplomatic relations were established in May 1962, Israel had already made substantial contributions to Ethiopia in areas such as training, knowledge-sharing, and infrastructure development.

For instance, in March 1963, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin spent a week in Ethiopia, meeting with Emperor Haile Selassie, his ministers, and military leaders.

Their visit reflected Israel's strategic interest in Ethiopia, particularly in relation to the Blue Nile, “where the life of Egypt begins,” as Peres put it.

[9] Israel trained counter-insurgency forces and the Governor General of Eritrea, Asrate Medhin Kassa, had an Israeli Military Attaché as his advisor.

[10] In 1969 the Israeli government had proposed the formation of an anti-Pan-Arab alliance consisting of the United States, Israel, Ethiopia, Iran and Turkey.

In 1971, the Israeli Chief of Staff Bar Lev made a visit to Ethiopia, during which he presented proposals for deepening of Israeli-Ethiopian cooperation.

[12][13] The allegations of possible Israeli military bases on the islands of the Eritrean coast surfaced again soon thereafter, at a summit of Foreign Ministers of Islamic countries, held in Benghazi, Libya.

[12][14] Ethiopian Prime Minister Aklilu Habte-Wold began seeking political support for breaking relations with Israel after the OAU summit.

In Riyadh, Katama encountered similar sentiments, alongside promises of compensating Ethiopia for its losses through the import of meat and grain and collaboration on developing Red Sea resources.

Despite Faysal’s travels to various African nations, he did not visit Ethiopia himself but instead sent missions to Aklilu emphasizing the need to expel Israeli presence.

While Ethiopia had historically been significant to Islam, its ties with Israel were of particular concern to the Arab world, which deemed it crucial for those relations to end.

An Ethiopian source reported that during this conference, Faysal allegedly pledged a financial package worth $200 million in exchange for Ethiopia severing its ties with Israel.

He made this move despite the advice of key figures such as Ras Asrate Kassa, Chief of Staff General Assefa Ayene, and the head priests led by Abuna Tewoflos, all of whom symbolized Ethiopia’s longstanding legacy of imperial Christian independence.

In the wake of this decision, nearly 100 Israeli advisers, businessmen, and diplomats were left in shock, and within a week they departed, with Ambassador Aynor being the last to leave on November 3.

Following this, King Faysal sent a cable to Haile Selassie congratulating him on eliminating “Zionism, which aims to control the world,” and reiterated his promise to provide compensation beyond their losses.

[5] During the Ogaden War, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Dayan publicly acknowledged that Israel had been supplying security assistance and arms to Ethiopia.

Israeli support began after Mengistu's government requested weapons, prompting Israel to consult with the United States before delivering arms via cargo planes.

Mengistu Haile Mariam expelled all Israelis so that he might preserve his relationship with radical Arab states such as Libya and South Yemen.

[5] As Mengistu's allies in the Socialist Bloc went into a state of crisis and division, Ethiopia began to put more emphasis on relations with Israel.

Mengistu apparently believed that Israel, unlike the Soviet Union, whose military advisers emphasized conventional tactics, could provide the training and matériel needed to transform the Ethiopian army into a counterinsurgency force.

According to the New York Times, Israel supplied 150,000 rifles, cluster bombs, ten to twenty military advisers to train Mengistu's Presidential Guard, and an unknown number of instructors to work with Ethiopian commando units.

Departures in the spring reached about 500 people a month before Ethiopian officials adopted new emigration procedures that reduced the figure by more than two-thirds.