Israeli ambassador to Ethiopia expelled from conference on Rwandan genocide

Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia Avraham Neguise has been removed from an African Union conference held today in Addis Ababa commemorating the Rwandan genocide after member states refused to participate alongside him, the Foreign Ministry confirms to The Times of Israel.

The Foreign Ministry condemns Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Mahmoud Youssouf from Djibouti, saying, “It is outrageous that at an event commemorating the victims of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, to which the Israeli ambassador in Addis Ababa was invited, [Youssouf] chose to introduce anti-Israel political elements.”

“This unacceptable conduct first and foremost dishonors the memory of the victims, and reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the histories of both the Rwandan and Jewish peoples,” continues the Foreign Ministry.

Neguise, a former Likud lawmaker, has served as ambassador to Ethiopia since August 2024. He attended the annual conference, entitled “Commemoration of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda,” at the Nelson Mandela Hall at the African Union Headquarters in the country’s capital.

Youssouf previously served as Djibouti’s Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the Arab League, while also acting as a non-resident ambassador to Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. He has also chaired the Council of Ministers of both the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

The Foreign Ministry added that they “will take the necessary diplomatic steps with the relevant parties to clarify the seriousness with which we view this incident.”