Eyeing Africa: The Politics of Israeli Ocular Expertise and International Aid, 1959–1973

Israel was involved in multiple foreign-aid projects in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1960s as part of its quest to gain political allies and determine its place in the decolonized world. Although the literature has considered agricultural- or military-aid programs as a tool of diplomatic relations, I e...

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Veröffentlicht in:Jewish social studies 2016-03, Vol.21 (3), p.31-71
1. Verfasser: Mooreville, Anat
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Israel was involved in multiple foreign-aid projects in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1960s as part of its quest to gain political allies and determine its place in the decolonized world. Although the literature has considered agricultural- or military-aid programs as a tool of diplomatic relations, I examine how the long-standing eye-aid program had ambitions beyond the needs of Israeli statecraft. This paper addresses how and why ophthalmology became Israel’s largest medical-aid program and in so doing examines Israel’s claims to be a bridgehead between East and West and its short-lived affiliation with the global South. I investigate the historic and symbolic significance of ocular expertise in Palestine, Africa as an extraterritorial site of clinical and research pioneering, and one physician’s use of diplomatic policies to provide a solution to a global medical problem.
ISSN:0021-6704
1527-2028
DOI:10.2979/jewisocistud.21.3.02