Democratic Republic of the Congo to move Embassy to Jerusalem

By Henry Levy

More than 53 years after ending diplomatic relations with Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, the Democratic Republic of the Congo confirmed its decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, making them the 11th nation to do so. DRC President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 1, 2026 and made the announcement. In a joint statement on September 3rd, both leaders said that consultations about the move would continue and Israel agreed to open a resident Israeli embassy in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, formerly known as Zaire. Upon welcoming President Tshisekedi, Netanyahu remarked, “It is a pleasure welcoming our good friend, the president of the Republic of Congo, in Israel. It is a great friendship. We are strengthening it, and this visit will only help strengthen it even further. So welcome, Mr. President!”

President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi and Israel's President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem. GPO/Ma'ayan Toaf.

According to a story by JNS, Danny Danon, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon,wrote on X, “I thank my good friend, President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for his decision to move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem, Israel’s capital. More than a decade ago, when Félix was still a presidential candidate, he shared with me his deep personal connection to Jerusalem and his vision of establishing an embassy there. Today, he is turning that vision into reality.”

Discussions began in September 2023 when both leaders met at the General Assembly in New York. The decision to pursue the move took a step forward when Israeli President Isaac Herzog was on a state visit this past November to meet with President Tshisekedi in Kinshasa. Now on September 1st President Isaac Herzog welcomed and hosted the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Félix Tshisekedi along with their senior delegations and Foreign Ministers accompanying him on the visit. At the conclusion of their diplomatic meeting they issued the following statements.

President Isaac Herzog: “Welcome, my dear friend, President Tshisekedi. I am so glad to reciprocate and host you in Israel after you hosted me so beautifully in Kinshasa. The relations that we have with the Democratic Republic of the Congo are incredibly important to us. We have so many fields of cooperation. We respect your support of Israel, Mr. President, in the international arena, and this visit shows the depth and importance of these relations. Israel puts a major focus on its relations with Africa. I have had the enormous pleasure of visiting the continent of Africa on numerous occasions in the last few years, and I hope to see more of Africa, and meet and have a dialogue with African leaders across the continent. Our relations stem from the love of the Bible and the vision of moving forward toward development and doing good in the family of nations. I know that you are striving with many challenges, Mr. President, but we are here to help and support — especially in the humanitarian challenges that you face in so many fields — and other issues that are so important to your well-being and national interests. Shalom to you and thank you for visiting the holy city.”

President Félix Tshisekedi said, “I am pleased to be here today in Jerusalem. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the State of Israel maintain long-standing ties that we wish to strengthen today. With President Herzog, we discussed the main international and regional issues, as well as the challenges of peace and security facing our countries. Our discussions confirmed our shared commitment to giving a new dimension to cooperation between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the State of Israel, particularly in agriculture and food security, water, health, technology and innovation, security, training and investment. Our ambition is to build with Israel a modern, pragmatic and mutually beneficial partnership, one that is measured not only by the agreements we sign, but by their implementation and the results they produce for our two peoples.”

Another consideration for the DRC’s move was supposedly its desire for closer economic relations with the United States which was the first country to move its embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 under the direction of President Donald Trump.

The list of counties that have moved their embassies to Jerusalem includes, the United States, Guatemala, Paraguay, Kosovo, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Somaliland. Those that have pledged to do so include Argentina, Columbia and now the DRC. There are currently 97 countries with embassies in Israel, mostly in Tel Aviv. The reluctance of many of these countries to move to is although Israel declared that Jerusalem is the undivided capital of the state of Israel, Palestinians want East Jerusalem to serve as the future capital of a Palestinian state. It is not surprising that the biased, Israel-hating United Nations General Assembly urged countries not to establish their diplomatic missions in Israel in Jerusalem.