DRC President Tshisekedi photographed at the Western Wall after talks with Netanyahu
JERUSALEM Félix Tshisekedi was photographed at the Western Wall this week during his official visit to Israel. In the picture now circulating, the Congolese president is wearing a kippah and standing at the stones with both hands on the wall. Clash Report said he kissed the Wall. That photo, not a signed deal, is what took off online.
The image landed at the end of a three-day trip. On Tuesday, Tshisekedi met Benjamin Netanyahu and Isaac Herzog. Both governments said they want closer security and economic ties.
Congo is still fighting armed groups in the east and is looking for extra security partners. Israel wants a bigger economic opening, including in mining and related projects. Officials listed security, defense, agriculture, energy, infrastructure and technology. No major new contracts were announced.
Before the meetings, Tshisekedi went to Yad Vashem. He had already visited the Western Wall on a 2021 trip. He left Israel on Wednesday. Online, some called the Wall photo a sign of friendship. Others called it a sellout.
The politics sit in the same place they did before he arrived: Congo wants help on security. Israel wants a deeper foothold in a mineral-rich country. The photo just made that visit impossible to ignore.