May, who became rich in an original way, to the embassy in Jerusalem: Nauru’s unusual story

The island nation of Nauru has decided to open an embassy in Israel and will become the tenth country to have its embassy stationed in Jerusalem. According to a statement from the Nauruan government and the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, the decision was made following Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s meeting with Lionel Anigimah, Nauru’s vice president and minister of foreign affairs, trade and justice, in Fiji last month. Sa’ar welcomed the move, adding that Colombia’s foreign minister-designate also promised last week to reopen the embassy in Israel after two years of severed ties and to establish it in Jerusalem.

In less than a decade, nine countries have established their embassies in Israel and two more have decided, in a symbolic move, to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. In the last century, the Netherlands and other countries in Latin America and Africa had embassies in Jerusalem, but after the Yom Kippur War in 1973, most of the embassies of African countries in Jerusalem were closed as diplomatic relations were severed following the decision of the Organization of African Unity. Latin American countries and the Netherlands continued to have embassies in the city until 1980, but due to the adoption of a basic law: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, they also moved their embassies to Gush Dan.

A constant supporter at international level

Nauru is an island state and, along with the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau and Kiribati, belongs to the Micronesian group of countries in the North Pacific. Only about 13,000 people live there and they import almost all of their food and products because the island is too small for agriculture or manufacturing. Nauru is located a few kilometers south of the equator and covers only 21 square kilometers. She is one of Israel’s most consistent supporters in the UN arena and has made a political statement in favor of Israel in a lawsuit before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Nauru recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2019.

From the white gold mines to bankruptcy

It was not until 1968 that Nauru gained independence from Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand and quickly became one of the richest countries in the world thanks to its fertilizer industry. Located in the heart of the ocean, the island served as a resting place for tired birds for millions of years, and the droppings (feces) of the birds concentrated there became a valuable mineral over the years. There is now a crater in the center of the island from which minerals have been mined over the years.

The island nation’s crisis began with the end of minerals – mining ended and the country went bankrupt. Because the country had to import almost everything, the bankruptcy led to a severe humanitarian crisis and extreme political instability. In 14 years, between 1989 and 2003, Nauru changed 17 governments and the country was forced to achieve total dependence on Australia.

The humanitarian tragedy and the refugee camps

Australia used its indirect control of the island to set up refugee camps to house migrants trying to reach Australia who were caught at sea. The conditions in the refugee camps set up in the crater area were described in the media as dire concentration camps only seen in the Holocaust. The affair shocked the world, but reductions in media coverage and several agreements to improve conditions meant it disappeared from the headlines. Some claim that Nauru currently makes its living primarily from the money it receives for maintaining refugee camps.

“Economic Diplomacy” and Religious Affinity

The extreme change that the country experienced in a short period of time from one of the richest to one of the poorest in the world also led it to pursue “economic diplomacy”. Nauru sells its votes in the UN and its official support to countries in exchange for financial donations and aid. However, support for Israel is also based on religious identity and not necessarily on an economic basis.

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