Haim Taib, president of the 2025 Jerusalem Post Annual Conference in New York and founder and president of the Mitrelli Group and the Menomadin Foundation, told attendees that Israel’s mission of delivering agriculture, clean energy, medicine, digital health, and water must extend to Africa.
Taib, who has developed infrastructure, hospitals, and education in Africa through the Mitrelli Group for over 34 years, said that by 2050, Africa, the world’s youngest and fastest-growing continent, would be home to 2.8 billion people. Africa lacks a sufficient supply of clean water and electricity, and millions do not receive basic education and adequate health care, he said.
To address these issues, Taib said that the United States, Israel, and Africa should join in a new alliance, combining Israeli innovation and US influence.
He cited the Lobito Corridor Project, a $4 billion infrastructure initiative linking Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Zambia, which can be a platform for food security, housing, education, connectivity, and prosperity. Taib announced the launch of the Lobito Corridor Development Platform, a new investment initiative to scale and activate this vision. He said that it presented a strategic opportunity for shared growth for Africa, Israel, and the world. “Israel has a role to play in that future: to link [the] future to purpose,” he said. “In moments like these, purpose must be grounded in hope.”
Discussing matters closer to home, Taib said that bringing back the remaining hostages from Gaza was the moral thing to do, adding that Israel’s mission was not only to bring them home, but to bring them back to a country that is “whole, resilient, and deserving of their sacrifice. This moment tests not only our strength, but our spirit,” he said.
The conference president expressed his thanks to US President Donald Trump for his support of Israel and expressed hope that Iran would never be permitted to develop nuclear weapons.
He lauded the Abraham Accords and efforts to expand them, saying that “Deepening relations with Saudi Arabia could bring lasting security and opportunity – not only for our region, but for Africa as well.”
This article was written in collaboration with Menomadin and Mitrelli Groups.