Through the Eyes of Olabisi Ajala: Israel and Its Arabs, 63 Years Ago

 A few days ago, I came across An African Abroad, the travel notes of Nigerian-born writer Olabisi Ajala, who was born in Ghana. His observations of the Middle East—especially Israel—during his six-year world tour covering 87 countries are strikingly relevant to understanding what is happening today.

Although born into a Muslim family, Ajala was raised as a Christian before later returning to his ancestral religion, paganism. As a dark-skinned foreigner, he spent 13 months in the Middle East between 1959 and 1960. In Israel, he closely observed the lives of second-class Jews, was beaten by three drunk UN officials in Jerusalem and rescued by young Israelis, and visited Arab villages that challenged the dominant narratives about their supposed aggression.

Ajala began his Middle East journey in Syria, then continued into Jordan. From there, he attempted to cross into Jerusalem. Neither Jordanian officials nor Israeli soldiers initially allowed his entry. Riding his motorcycle, the Ghanaian passport holder eventually managed to enter Israel after Israeli soldiers consulted with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the time, Israel had strong ties with Ghana, and the ministry granted approval. His unusual entry even made headlines in the Jerusalem Post. (Just weeks earlier, the Israeli foreign minister had visited Ghana and Nigeria—an indication of Israel’s growing interest in Africa at that time.)

Meeting Golda Meir

Ajala had the rare opportunity to meet Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, where he posed bold questions. When Ajala suggested that Israel’s interest in Africa might be motivated by a desire to gain African support against Arab states, Meir firmly rejected the claim. She insisted that Israel’s scholarships and agricultural training programs for African students were driven by a genuine desire to support African development, though Arab nations accused Israel of being colonialist and imperialist.

When asked about relations with Arabs and the prospects for peace, Meir stated that Israel was teaching modern farming methods to Palestinian Arabs, whom she described as using primitive techniques. She claimed Israel was striving for peace. When Ajala mentioned hearing of Arabs being mistreated, Meir dismissed it as fabrication.

Ajala then expressed a desire to visit Arab villages. Meir discouraged him, saying there was nothing worth seeing, that Arabs disliked tourists, and that they were hostile.

Second-Class Jews

During his time in Israel, Ajala noticed that while Israeli cities were as developed as many in Europe, not everyone enjoyed the same living standards. He identified two groups of Jews: privileged European Jews and the “second-class” Jews from Algeria, India, Yemen, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Syria, and Iran.

European Jews lived in comfortable homes in prime areas, with government support and incentives to start businesses. By contrast, second-class Jews lived in poor neighborhoods, crowded six or seven to a room, in houses lacking toilets, running water, or even basic sanitation. They worked as janitors, maids, or drivers. Ajala noted that after Muslim Arabs, these Jews were the most disadvantaged group in Israel.

One day in Jerusalem, Ajala met a Muslim Arab in front of a café. When he invited him inside, he was shocked to learn that Arabs were not allowed to enter Jewish establishments. Eventually finding a way around this restriction, Ajala spent hours talking with him. Despite warnings, he accepted the man’s invitation to visit his village, Taiba.

Israel’s Arab Villages

To his surprise, none of the eight maps Ajala consulted showed the village of Taiba. Asking his way, he finally arrived—and was stunned. The village was surrounded by barbed wire, with no roads, schools, hospitals, electricity, or running water. The houses were in ruins; the only proper building was an Israeli police station.

Ajala spoke with an elderly woman who told him:
“Before being brought here, we had homes and farmland in Palestine. Then Israel seized our lands and forced us here. Our mosques were burned, our homes destroyed. Now we live wondering whether we will have food tomorrow or even survive the night.”

When Ajala asked, in good faith, whether the Israeli government provided any assistance, she replied bitterly:
“Assistance? Israel only makes life harder. We still have land, but we’re not allowed to farm it. The police are always watching us.”

Ajala did not hesitate to recount what he saw and heard. He wrote that villagers needed special permits from Israeli police just to leave their village, and were forbidden from visiting relatives in other villages. He tried to make sense of such policies, ultimately concluding that if Israel truly wanted peace, it had to stop mistreating these people.

In contrast, Ajala also visited a Druze village and found them in far better conditions. The Druze, he noted, disliked Muslims and identified more closely with Israel.

Olabisi Ajala’s candid travel notes stand as a rare historical document, revealing that the situation in the Middle East was already much the same 63 years ago as it is today.

This article was originally published in Independent Türkçe, on November 15,2023