Israel–Sri Lanka Relations

Relations between Israel and Sri Lanka have combined diplomatic engagement with practical cooperation in security, agriculture, and technical assistance. Their history is not a continuous sequence of normal diplomatic ties: accounts describe interruptions, periods of lower-level representation, and a renewed formal relationship in 2000. The two governments have also maintained different positions on the Palestinian issue, with Sri Lanka supporting Palestinian diplomatic initiatives while preserving ties with Israel.[1][2]

Security cooperation became a defining feature during Sri Lanka’s conflict with the LTTE, including arms sales, training, patrol craft, and aircraft. Later ties broadened to include cybersecurity, aviation, employment agreements, tourism, and humanitarian responses. These connections have unfolded amid regional pressures, including concerns attributed to Arab states and India, and sensitive debate over Israel’s role in the Sri Lankan conflict.[3][4]

Sri Lanka and Israel became independent in 1948, but Sri Lanka did not immediately recognize Israel. The Jewish Virtual Library lists Sri Lankan recognition on September 16, 1950, while the INSS study dates the establishment of diplomatic relations to 1956 and other historical accounts date it to 1957. These sources may be referring to separate stages—recognition and establishment of diplomatic relations—but do not fully reconcile the dates.[5][6][1]

Early relations included practical cooperation. BESA and the Jewish Virtual Library associate D. S. Senanayake with initiating naval and technical contacts: Sri Lanka bought its navy’s first gunship from Israel, and Israeli advisers helped dig tube wells in the dry zone of northern Sri Lanka.[3][5] A separate BESA account identifies SLNS Gajabahu as a former Israeli Navy vessel that served during the 1956 Sinai War and was acquired by Sri Lanka in 1958.[4] A 1987 survey reports that Sri Lanka invited Israel to open a legation in Colombo in 1958, following the sale of two Israeli frigates.[7]

The political setting grew less favorable after Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike came to power in 1956. One historical account describes his government as turning toward closer alignment with Arab states. An Encyclopaedia Judaica entry characterizes Ceylon’s policy from 1957 to 1970 as generally supportive of Arab states and identifies several pressures: tea was a major export, Arab countries were important purchasers and were reported to have threatened to stop buying if ties with Israel improved, India’s policy influenced Ceylon, and the Muslim minority was described as having cultural and historical connections with the Arab world.[5][8]

After Bandaranaike’s assassination in 1959, his widow, Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike, became prime minister. The Jewish Virtual Library account describes her posture toward Israel as hostile and notes her government’s participation in the Non-Aligned Movement. The Encyclopaedia Judaica entry says her government, elected in 1970, suspended relations with Israel and linked the decision to Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in the 1967 Six-Day War or to an agreement acceptable to Arab states; it records the closure of Israel’s Colombo legation in August 1970.[5][8]

Accounts describe the 1970 rupture in differing terms. INSS says Sri Lanka cut diplomatic ties in July, stating that Israel was not complying with UN Security Council Resolution 242, which called for withdrawal from territories occupied in the Six-Day War.[2] The Library of Congress country study says the United Front government that took office in 1970 adopted a nonaligned foreign policy and support for national liberation movements, and pledged to suspend recognition of Israel; the cited passage records the pledge but not whether or when it was implemented.[9] A 1987 survey likewise says Sri Lanka abruptly broke diplomatic relations in 1970 and voted for the 1975 UN resolution equating Zionism with racism.[7]

During the mid-to-late 1970s, the Library of Congress account lists Israel among several countries supplying equipment to Sri Lanka, alongside the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, China, Australia, Italy, South Africa, and the United States. It mentions field guns, light trucks, and armored personnel carriers among new equipment but does not assign particular items to individual suppliers.[9]

Sri Lanka renewed contact with Israel in the context of escalating conflict after the 1983 anti-Tamil riots and the growth of insurgency in the north. During President Junius Richard Jayewardene’s government, Colombo sought assistance against the LTTE after Western countries refused to sell it weapons, according to BESA and the Jewish Virtual Library. BESA identifies cabinet minister Lalith Athulathmudali, who had worked as a law lecturer at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and Jayewardene’s son Ravi Jayewardene as advocates for turning to Israel.[3][5]

In May 1984, Sri Lanka established an Israeli special-interest section in Colombo, operating from the U.S. embassy.[9] BESA says an Israeli mission opened in Colombo in April for the second time.[3] A 1987 American Jewish Committee survey says that after six months of negotiations Sri Lanka permitted an Israeli interests section inside the U.S. embassy.[7] A 1984 memorandum by American Jewish Committee staff member David Geller instead describes Sri Lanka creating a low-level office of diplomatic representation in connection with Israel. These accounts describe related but not identically worded arrangements and do not establish that full diplomatic relations had been restored.[10]

Shin Bet agents trained members of Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force and other groups in intelligence gathering and internal-security techniques.[9] BESA likewise reports that Shin Bet advisers visited Colombo in 1984 to help train the first cadre of Special Task Force personnel.[4] The Geller memorandum describes an agreement for Israeli counterterrorism assistance, says the United States was instrumental in bringing it about, and records protests from Tamils and others.[10]

A 1987 survey says Sri Lanka requested Israeli assistance against Tamil separatists seeking an independent state in northern Sri Lanka. It reports that the separatists were receiving arms and training from the PLO, but presents that as an account from the survey rather than an independently corroborated finding. The same survey says a secret meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers took place in New York in September 1986, during the UN General Assembly session, and that Israeli technical experts were assessing potential contributions to the Mahawali River development project. Israeli participation was expected, not described as completed. The project aimed to resettle 200,000 Sri Lankans in the river valley after dams were built and land prepared for cultivation.[7]

The relationship carried regional diplomatic costs. The Library of Congress study says that India worried about Jayewardene’s pursuit of military assistance from countries it viewed with suspicion or as challenging its regional primacy; it lists Israel among countries whose experts provided training in counterinsurgency and land-settlement strategies. In letters accompanying the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord of July 29, 1987, Jayewardene assured Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi that Sri Lanka would reconsider agreements with Israel and Pakistan concerning military security. Sri Lanka also agreed to consult New Delhi over foreign military and intelligence personnel and not to make ports available for military use in a way prejudicial to India’s interests. The country study says establishing the Israeli special-interest section came “at considerable cost to its standing among Third World nations.”[9]

Naval cooperation expanded during this period. Sri Lanka’s navy added six Israeli Super Dvora fast-attack craft in 1985, with eight more reportedly on order, as part of a broader effort to diversify naval suppliers and develop domestic shipbuilding.[9] BESA says Israel initially hesitated to release Dvora-class boats requested by Colombo, but Prime Minister Shimon Peres authorized two after meeting Ravi Jayewardene. BESA describes the Israeli-supplied Dvoras as a threat to LTTE operations at sea and as contributing to later Sri Lankan naval purchases from Israel.[4]

A 1987 American Jewish Committee survey reports that the Israeli government was expected to participate in the Mahawali agricultural development project, with technical experts already assessing possible contributions.[7] A separate August 1984 article discussed Sri Lanka’s interest in agricultural development and Israeli technicians’ cooperation with Americans on development assistance, but it did not identify a specific Sri Lankan project, agreement, or amount. These accounts document interest and assessment rather than a confirmed completed aid program.[10]

Israeli defense exports to Sri Lanka grew during the conflict with the LTTE. The INSS study estimates that arms supplied amounted to hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars over time. Its list includes night-vision and communications equipment, artillery-coordination systems, Gabriel sea-to-sea missiles, drones and ground stations, body armor, ammunition, Uzi and Galil firearms, mortars, and 155-mm cannons. The study says Israeli-supplied vessels extended the Sri Lankan Navy’s operational range, while the LTTE used the sea to smuggle weapons and personnel from India and attacked the navy.[1]

Reports offer different figures and descriptions for specific purchases. A 2000 Globes article said Sri Lanka had received coast guard boats from Israeli Navy surplus stocks in a deal valued at $20 million. It also reported, citing foreign media, that Sri Lanka bought seven Kfir C-7 aircraft for $30 million after acquiring five earlier; in the same article, the head of Israel Military Industries said there were no current deals with the Sri Lankan government.[11] A 2003 Globes report listed 15 Kfirs supplied in the 1990s, without explaining how that total relates to the earlier figures.[12] A 2001 account, citing the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies’ Middle East Military Balance, listed Kfirs, mine-detection radar received in 1997, electronic-warfare systems supplied in 1998, Saar 4.5 missile boats, and Super Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles.[13]

The INSS study says Sri Lanka bought seven Kfir fighter jets in 1995 and that eight more were reported purchased in 2000. It records that one Kfir squadron logged more than 2,800 operational flight hours and released over 3,500 tons of bombs. The study attributes confirmation of Sri Lankan pilot training in Israel to Sri Lanka’s ambassador there, while a claim that Israeli pilots flew the aircraft is attributed to a spokesman for the Sri Lankan embassy in Washington.[1] In a 2010 interview, Sri Lankan ambassador Donald Perera described Israeli support as involving “the exchange of information and the sale of military technology and equipment”; he said Sri Lanka’s air force had 17 Kfirs and that its pilots had been trained in Israel.[14]

The aircraft and naval equipment served in a conflict whose history is politically sensitive. The sources document security cooperation and the use of Kfirs against LTTE targets, but they do not provide a comprehensive account of the civil war or resolve disputes about the conduct of its parties.[1][4] One BESA article describes as speculation the suggestion that an LTTE bombing of Colombo’s Oberoi Hotel was intended partly to target Shin Bet personnel reportedly in the city; the alleged motive is not established by the account.[4]

The 1987 accord with India did not end Sri Lanka’s defense relationship with Israel. The Library of Congress country study places Israel among Sri Lanka’s foreign sources of military equipment and training, while INSS describes continued assistance as particularly relevant to security during the conflict with the LTTE. The procurement record includes systems for air, sea, communications, and ground operations, rather than a single isolated sale.[9][1]

A second break in relations is dated inconsistently. The Jewish Virtual Library’s Sri Lanka account and BESA date President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s decision to 1992.[5][3] The Encyclopaedia Judaica entry and Encyclopedia.com give 1990.[8][15] The available accounts do not reconcile whether the dates refer to different stages, such as the closure of a low-level office and the formal severing of ties.

The explanations also differ in emphasis. BESA links the 1992 termination to Sri Lanka’s 1991 vote against UN General Assembly Resolution 46/86, which revoked the resolution that had characterized Zionism as a form of racism.[3] The Jewish Virtual Library describes Premadasa as breaking with Israel in 1992, while the 1990 account focuses on the closure of the Israeli Interests Section.[5][8] A 2000 Globes report attributed the earlier rupture to Arab pressure and described arms procurement during the conflict as one motivation for restoring ties; those are the article’s reported explanations, not an independently established consensus.[11]

Full diplomatic relations were restored in 2000. INSS identifies a joint communiqué issued by Israel’s Foreign Ministry on May 15, 2000, and other accounts also give 2000 as the year of renewal.[1] The Jewish Virtual Library diplomatic-missions table labels May 2000 a “Renewal” and says Israel was represented in Sri Lanka by its ambassador in India.[16] Its historical account distinguishes initial establishment in the 1950s from restoration in 2000, though a separate Asia overview describes relations as established in 2000. These differences illustrate why sources may use “establishment,” “resumption,” and “renewal” for distinct diplomatic milestones.[5]

Accounts also vary on how to characterize the 1980s period. Some call the opening of the Israeli Interests Section a restoration of relations in 1984, while archival and official accounts describe a special-interest section or lower-level representation rather than full diplomatic ties. The sources therefore support a sequence of renewed contact and security cooperation in the 1980s, followed by formal restoration in 2000, without supplying a single fully reconciled chronology.[5][9][7]

Sri Lanka’s engagement with Israel has existed alongside its support for Palestinian diplomacy. In 2007, President Mahinda Rajapaksa opened a Sri Lankan mission in Ramallah and appointed Dr. T. Jayasinghe as its head, Colombo’s first ambassador to Palestine. Sri Lanka supported the Palestinian Authority’s 2012 bid for UN non-member observer status.[2]

In 2014, Rajapaksa voiced support for a Palestinian state alongside Israel and announced a $1 million donation for Gaza reconstruction after Operation Protective Edge. The formulation recorded by INSS supported “a sovereign, independent, viable and united State of Palestine, existing within secure and recognized borders, side-by-side and at peace with Israel.”[2] Rajapaksa visited Israel in January of that year; the Jerusalem Post described the trip as the first visit to Israel by a Sri Lankan president and reported that he met President Shimon Peres and offered help in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[17]

Sri Lanka’s votes and statements on Israel remained a subject of diplomatic discussion. In a 2023 meeting with Sri Lankan ambassador Nimal Bandara, President Isaac Herzog raised Sri Lanka’s voting record at international forums. Herzog and Bandara discussed possible cooperation in tourism, science, culture, technology, and agriculture; Bandara expressed interest in moving forward in support for Israel and said he would recommend a proposed presidential visit. These were reported as statements and proposals at the meeting, rather than evidence that a visit or policy change had occurred.[18]

Cooperation has extended beyond defense. The early tube-well work in northern Sri Lanka and later discussions of agricultural development illustrate a long-running interest in practical technical exchange. The Jewish Virtual Library account also says Solel Boneh, an Israeli construction company, helped develop the Mahaweli settlements and that the Mossad later assisted the Sri Lankan government in developing a strategy for an energy crisis. The 1980s sources, by contrast, describe Israeli participation in the Mahawali project as anticipated and under assessment at that time.[5][7]

The relationship faced a constraint when Sri Lanka strengthened ties with Iran. INSS says Israeli concerns that Israeli technology could reach Tehran led Israel to freeze defense exports, even as bilateral relations continued in trade, agriculture, irrigation, and desalination. The study reports that Sri Lankan and Iranian presidents met several times in 2008, when Iran pledged $1.9 billion in soft loans and grants for irrigation and hydroelectric projects and Sri Lanka pledged to buy Iranian oil.[1]

After Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009 with the military defeat of the LTTE, BESA says relations improved and Israel strengthened Sri Lanka’s cybersecurity. It also reports an Israel Aerospace Industries deal in 2021 without specifying its value or contents.[4] In June 2021, Globes reported an IAI contract worth $50 million with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defense to upgrade Kfir aircraft. The planned work included replacing basic avionics with advanced systems that could integrate radar, sensors, communications equipment, and new helmets, and transferring refurbishment skills to Sri Lankan Air Force personnel at local facilities.[19]

Modernization continued amid financial uncertainty after Sri Lanka’s 2022 economic crisis. A 2026 Calcalist report said one of five Israeli-made Kfirs then operated by Sri Lanka had completed a successful test flight after extensive modernization, including structural reinforcement, replacement of obsolete components, a new mission computer and autopilot, updated navigation and avionics, and an engine refurbishment. The remaining aircraft were expected to receive similar work under a program valued at about $50 million. The report said the aircraft had been used in strikes against LTTE targets during the civil war.[20]

Employment agreements became another area of growing ties. Israel signed new bilateral work agreements with Sri Lanka in 2023 for agriculture and construction; the U.S. Department of State’s 2024 trafficking report gives no Sri Lanka-specific arrival figures or terms.[21] In November 2023, Israel’s interior minister and Sri Lanka’s ambassador signed an agreement allowing Israel to hire 10,000 Sri Lankan agricultural workers. The agreement followed Israeli approval for 5,000 agricultural workers and came after the October 7 attack and the departure of foreign workers from Israel’s agricultural sector. The first arrivals were expected in the following weeks; the report said about 4,500 Sri Lankan workers were already employed in Israel, mostly in home care.[22]

Construction-worker placements proceeded more slowly. In March 2024, Globes reported that no workers had yet arrived under new bilateral construction agreements with Sri Lanka, India, and Uzbekistan. It said 18,000 workers from India and Sri Lanka had been screened and approved by the Israel Builders Association and were waiting to travel, with bureaucracy and staffing companies’ unfamiliarity with the process cited as reasons for delay. The same report said 89 Sri Lankan workers had arrived by then but did not identify them as participants in the bilateral channel.[23]

Aviation and tourism links expanded as well. Arkia announced weekly direct flights between Tel Aviv and Sri Lanka in August 2023, with the inaugural service scheduled for October 31. The first flights were expected to use Airbus A321neo aircraft, depart Tel Aviv on Tuesdays and return from Sri Lanka on Wednesdays, with a flight time of about six hours and fifteen minutes. The airline’s managing director credited Israeli and Sri Lankan authorities with enabling the route.[24] On February 15, 2024, the countries signed an aviation agreement allowing direct flights; Israel’s transport minister estimated that as many as 50,000 Israeli tourists might visit Sri Lanka each year.[25]

Tourism grew rapidly in the early 2020s. An Israeli report citing Sri Lankan tourism data recorded 9,326 Israeli arrivals in 2022 and 24,845 in 2024. It said 13,014 Israelis had entered the country by July 2025, 7.9 percent fewer than in the same period a year earlier. Israeli visitors and businesses were especially visible in Arugam Bay and Weligama.[26] JNS, citing Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry, described current relations as friendly and spanning trade, agriculture, employment, and tourism, and reported that about 25,000 Israelis visited Sri Lanka in 2025. It also noted that Chabad operates several centers on the island.[27]

Visa arrangements were reported inconsistently. Maariv said in July 2025 that Sri Lanka had decided to expand a visa-fee waiver program to citizens of 40 countries, including Israelis, while clarifying that travelers still needed advance electronic travel authorization.[28] A later Mako report in April 2026 described the expansion as a proposal awaiting cabinet and parliamentary approval. The sources do not establish how this difference in reported status was resolved.[29]

Humanitarian assistance has also featured in the relationship. After the December 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, Israel dispatched an emergency medical team to Sri Lanka to provide first aid.[30] In May 2017, after floods and mudslides killed 200 people and displaced more than 80,000, the Israeli ambassador to India and Sri Lanka delivered trucks carrying medical supplies, generators, food, blankets, and other necessities to Sri Lankan authorities.[5] Following the April 2019 bombings in Sri Lanka, Israel’s National Security Council head offered condolences and humanitarian aid to a senior Sri Lankan official; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Israel was ready to assist, though the report said it was not immediately clear whether Sri Lanka would accept the offer.[31]

Security concerns have affected Israeli travel to Sri Lanka. In October 2024, Israel’s National Security Council warned Israelis to leave Arugam Bay and other coastal tourist areas in the south and west after a reported terrorism threat, while saying it was in close contact with Sri Lankan authorities.[32][33] A more detailed advisory raised Arugam Bay and coastal locations including Ahangama, Galle, Hikkaduwa, and Weligama to threat level four, advising Israelis to leave; it raised the rest of Sri Lanka to level three and advised postponing nonessential travel. Israelis were also urged to avoid visible Israeli or Jewish identifying symbols and unsecured gatherings.[32] Sri Lankan police said they were increasing security for tourists.[33]

The increase in Israeli tourism prompted local debate. A 2025 report described opposition among some activists and opposition legislators to a planned visa-free entry policy for Israeli citizens, in the context of the Gaza war and the visible presence of Israeli visitors and businesses in coastal areas. The report attributed accusations about Israel’s conduct in Gaza to Sri Lankan critics rather than presenting them as established findings. It also said police welcomed tourists irrespective of nationality and that authorities had increased security in Arugam Bay.[26]

Diplomatic contact continued during this period. On August 3, 2026, President Isaac Herzog received the credentials of Sri Lanka’s new ambassador, Saman Kumar Chandrasiri. Herzog said there was significant potential to expand relations, and Chandrasiri expressed Sri Lanka’s interest in developing its tourism industry.[34]

The main chronological uncertainty concerns the distinction between recognition, initial diplomatic relations, lower-level representation, interruptions, and full restoration. Sources place recognition in 1950 and initial diplomatic ties in 1956 or 1957.[6][1] They describe renewed contact or an Israeli interests section in 1984 and a later rupture in either 1990 or 1992.[5][3] Full diplomatic relations were restored in 2000.[8][16] The records do not fully reconcile these milestones, and some accounts appear to use “restoration” for the renewed contacts of the 1980s while others reserve it for the 2000 resumption of full diplomatic ties.

Other reported differences concern the causes of diplomatic decisions and specific defense acquisitions. Historical accounts discuss Arab-state pressure, economic relationships, domestic politics, and Sri Lanka’s nonaligned policy; these explanations are source-specific rather than a single established account.[8][11] Kfir purchase totals also differ across reports, which do not explain their different figures.[11][12] Claims about the alleged target of the 1984 Oberoi Hotel bombing are explicitly described as speculation.[4] Claims about Israeli pilots flying Sri Lankan Kfirs are attributed to an embassy spokesman.[1] These qualifications apply to those particular disputed details, not to the broader documented record of diplomatic and security cooperation.