JAMAICA'S Compromised Leadership in CARICOM on Gaza Crisis

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, July 6, 2025 - More than 40 Caribbean civil society organizations have issued an unprecedented demand for CARICOM to call for international arms embargoes and urge member states to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel, placing enormous pressure on Jamaica as the regional bloc's new chair.

But behind closed doors at Jamaica House, Prime Minister Andrew Holness faces an uncomfortable truth: his government's J$4 billion cybersecurity contract with Israeli defense contractor ELTA Systems and extensive intelligence sharing agreements have fundamentally compromised Jamaica's ability to respond to these calls for moral leadership on Gaza.

The civil society coalition, spanning from Jamaica's Left Alliance for National Democracy and Socialism to regional organizations across the Caribbean, has demanded that CARICOM leaders advocate for international legal proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice and "cut all ties with the Israeli rogue state."

Their open letter, timed for Jamaica's assumption of the CARICOM chairmanship for six months in July 2025, represents the most coordinated Caribbean pressure campaign since the anti-apartheid movement against South Africa.

Yet the reality is more complex: CARICOM can only call for such measures, not impose them, and faces additional constraints from U.S. concerns about preferred trading status arrangements with Caribbean nations that take strong anti-Israel stances.

Yet Jamaica's response reveals the price of digital entanglement with Israeli intelligence operations. The country that once led moral crusades in international affairs now finds itself diplomatically paralyzed, unable to match the principled stands taken by smaller Caribbean neighbors like Belize, which suspended diplomatic relations with Israel, or Barbados, whose Prime Minister Mia Mottley described Gaza as "the world's first televised genocide."

Jamaica's compromised position became starkly apparent when it was the only Caribbean nation to fail to vote on the crucial October 27, 2023 UN General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza.

While all 12 other CARICOM states supported the resolution, Jamaica's absence drew widespread regional criticism and was described by the opposition People's National Party as "a new low in Jamaican foreign policy history."

This diplomatic paralysis stems directly from Jamaica's deepening security relationship with Israel, which began in earnest after Prime Minister Andrew Holness's historic January 2017 visit to Israel - the first-ever by a Caribbean leader.

During this visit, Netanyahu specifically thanked Jamaica for not participating in UNESCO votes critical of Israel, establishing a pattern of diplomatic alignment that would later constrain Jamaica's Gaza crisis response.

The ELTA Systems contract and intelligence constraints

The centerpiece of Jamaica's Israeli entanglement is its J$4 billion cybersecurity contract with ELTA Systems Limited, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries.

This five-year agreement, running from 2017-2024, involves "hardening" critical government infrastructure across the Ministry of National Security, Jamaica Constabulary Force, Jamaica Defence Force, and the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency.

Beyond cybersecurity, the partnership includes intelligence sharing agreements that have reportedly strained Jamaica's traditional Western alliances. A US Drug Enforcement Administration official confirmed that Jamaica has "pretty much left the agreement" with the US in favor of deals with Israel, creating tension with traditional partners including the UK and Canada over Jamaica's 2004 electronic eavesdropping agreement.

Regional civil society pressure builds

Despite these constraints, Caribbean civil society has mounted sustained pressure for stronger action against Israel. More than 40 organizations issued an open letter to CARICOM leaders ahead of Jamaica's July 2025 chairmanship summit, demanding comprehensive arms embargoes, suspension of diplomatic relations, and support for legal proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

In Jamaica specifically, protests led by the Left Alliance for National Democracy and Socialism have demanded the government publicly disclose all deals with Israel, cut diplomatic ties, and officially condemn Israeli actions.

Similar protests have occurred across the Caribbean, from Barbados to Trinidad and Tobago, with civil society groups drawing parallels to the region's successful anti-apartheid movement against South Africa.

A region divided by Jamaica's paralysis

Jamaica's constrained position has created space for other CARICOM nations to assume greater leadership roles. Belize went furthest by suspending diplomatic relations with Israel in November 2023, while Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley described the Gaza situation as "the world's first televised genocide." Meanwhile, Guyana has used its UN Security Council position to advocate for stronger international action.

The contrast is stark: while Jamaica delayed recognizing Palestine until April 2024 (among the last four CARICOM states to do so), by May 2024 all 14 CARICOM members had achieved complete alignment on Palestinian statehood recognition. This represents a significant diplomatic achievement, but one that occurred despite rather than because of Jamaica's leadership.

The cost of security partnerships

Jamaica's experience illustrates the broader challenge small states face when security partnerships constrain diplomatic positions. The country's cybersecurity relationship with Israel has created what experts describe as "diplomatic constraints" that limit its ability to take principled stances on contentious international issues.

Former US Ambassador Donald Tapia confirmed the existence of intelligence agreements between Israel and Jamaica, while opposition security spokesman Peter Bunting warned as early as 2019 about Israeli firms providing "software capabilities to governments that have used them to spy on their political opponents" - a reference to concerns about NSO Group's Pegasus spyware.

CARICOM's unified stance despite Jamaica's constraints

Despite these internal tensions, CARICOM has maintained remarkably unified positions under Jamaica's chairmanship. The organization has consistently called for immediate ceasefires, supported Palestinian statehood, and endorsed international legal proceedings against Israel.

In June 2025, CARICOM endorsed President Biden's three-phase ceasefire proposal and has repeatedly invoked the "Uniting for Peace" resolution to demand UN General Assembly action when the Security Council is paralyzed.

However, this unity masks significant underlying tensions. Regional experts note that Jamaica's position reflects the complex challenges small states face in balancing security partnerships with moral leadership, particularly when dealing with contentious international crises like Gaza.

Conclusion

Jamaica's Israeli cybersecurity partnerships have created a diplomatic dependency that fundamentally compromises its ability to lead regional responses to the Gaza crisis.

While the country has maintained official support for Palestinian rights and ceasefire calls as CARICOM chair, its J$4 billion security contract with ELTA Systems and broader intelligence sharing agreements have constrained its diplomatic flexibility at crucial moments.

The result is a weakened regional voice on one of the most pressing international crises of our time. As civil society pressure mounts and other Caribbean nations assume greater leadership roles, Jamaica's experience serves as a cautionary tale about how security partnerships can undermine the very diplomatic independence they are meant to protect.

The question now is whether Jamaica can navigate these constraints while maintaining its traditional role as a moral voice in international affairs - or whether Caribbean leadership on Gaza will increasingly shift to nations like Barbados, Belize, and Guyana that have proven more willing to take principled stands despite potential diplomatic costs.

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