The Paper's reporter Wang Zhuoyi
On July 26, local time, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian Ministry of Justice last week pushed to close the Jewish Agency's branch in Russia because the agency violated Russian law and should not be "politicized."
The Bureau of Jewish Affairs, an organization that aims to promote the emigration of Jews from abroad to Israel, has close ties to the Israeli government. At a time when the differences between Russia and Israel over the Russian-Ukrainian conflict are widening, the closure of the Jewish Affairs Bureau has raised concerns about the direction of Russian-Israeli relations.
However, some Israeli officials have pointed out that it is not good for Russia to damage Russian-Israeli relations, and that Israel should be cautious about Russia's request to close the Jewish Affairs Bureau.
Claims violate privacy laws
According to Agence France-Presse and Israel's Haaretz newspaper, a Moscow court said on July 21 that the Russian Ministry of Justice, for unknown legal reasons, asked the court to rule on "dissolving" the Jewish Affairs Bureau, which has offices in several Russian cities. According to Reuters and Haaretz, the court will hold a hearing on July 28 to decide the future of the Jewish Affairs Bureau in Russia, and the Russian side is expected to submit more details to the court at that time.
According to the British "Guardian" reported on July 26, the Russian government accused the Jewish Affairs Bureau of violating privacy laws. Israel's Jerusalem Post reported that the Russian government also sent warning letters to several foreign-funded Jewish organizations operating in Russia last week. Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Russian government has shut down dozens of foreign-funded institutions and charitable organizations.
Peskov said the incident should not be "politicized" or "affect the entire Russian-Israeli relationship."
In response to Peskov's statement, Israeli Prime Minister Rapid said: "The relationship between Israel and Russia is based on a long history, regular communication and common interests, according to Agence France-Presse. The Israeli side also responded that the Jewish community is at the core of Russia-Israel relations, and if legal issues related to the activities of the Jewish Affairs Bureau in Russia arise, "Israel will, as always, be prepared to participate in the dialogue."
Founded in 1929 and headquartered in Jerusalem, the Bureau of Jewish Affairs is the world's largest Jewish nonprofit organization that played a key role in helping Israel establish itself in 1948. In 1989, the Bureau of Jewish Affairs began operations in Russia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, hundreds of thousands of Jews from all over the Soviet Union went to settle in Israel. Of today's 9.4 million Israeli population, more than 1 million have ties to the Soviet Union.
Russian-Israeli relations have not been smooth recently
Israeli Prime Minister Lapid said on July 24 that Russia's decision to close the Bureau of Jewish Affairs would "seriously affect (bilateral) relations," the Guardian reported.
In response to this, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zakharova responded in an interview with Russian state television on the 26th that the Israeli side "does it think that their actions and statements in recent months have not yet affected our relations?" She also criticized Israel for being "completely unconstructive and, above all, biased" in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which "is completely incomprehensible and strange to us."
Agence France-Presse quoted analysts as saying that Russia's attempt to shut down the Bureau of Jewish Affairs may have been a warning to the Rapid government's posture on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Although Israel is one of the few Western countries that has not imposed sanctions on Russia and has not sold weapons to Ukraine, the Rapid administration has adopted tougher rhetoric on Russia-Ukraine than its predecessors.
In April, it was reported that Russian troops had "shot" civilians in Places like Bucha, Ukraine, and despite Russia's denials, then-Israeli Foreign Minister Rapid accused Russia of war crimes.
In June, Moscow's chief rabbi( the spiritual leader of the Jews who is proficient in the Tanah and Talmuds, who presides over the religious ceremonies of Judaism), Pinchas Goldschmidt, was forced into exile in Israel for refusing to publicly support Russia's "special military operations" against Ukraine.
According to the Times of Israel, Israel announced on July 26 that it would expand humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, which for the first time would include financial support for civil society aid organizations operating in Ukraine.
Israel also confirmed on the same day that the Russian military had opened fire on Israeli fighters in May this year when they attacked suspected Iranian targets in Syria, but did not hit the targets. However, Israel also believes that the firing incident is "unique".
In addition, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov's remarks in May such as "Hitler has Jewish ancestry" and "the most fanatical anti-Semites are often Jews" have also had an impact on Russian-Israeli relations, and Israel recalled its ambassador to Russia.
In addition, Russia's call for the closure of the Jewish Affairs Bureau may also be taken into account to alleviate the drain of high-skilled workers. According to Haaretz, after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, a large number of Jews from both countries returned to Israel.
Russia has a large Jewish community, and according to the Jewish Affairs Bureau, tens of thousands of Russians have left the country since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, most of them well-educated and highly skilled personnel, of whom about 16,000 have come to Israel.
Israel's immigration minister, Pnina Tamano-Shata, told local Israeli television that 600,000 Russians are currently eligible to move to Israel under the Return Act. Since the storm over the closure of the Branch of the Jewish Affairs Bureau in Russia, the number of applicants has increased.
Take the expert: should not overreact
The Washington Post reported on July 25 that the call for the closure of the Jewish Affairs Bureau had caused "high tension" in Russian-Israeli relations.
But Reuters reported that despite their tough stance on Israel on issues involving the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, both Peskov and Zakharova now appear to want to keep as low a picture as possible about the possible diplomatic implications of shutting down the Jewish Affairs Bureau.
According to Haaretz reported on July 26, Danny Yatom, the former head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, also told the newspaper that Russia's request to close the Jewish Affairs Bureau was "mainly rhetoric" and that the damage to Russian-Israeli relations was not good for Russia.
Yatom said that although Russian law requires organizations receiving foreign funding to register as "foreign agents," it has not been applied to the Bureau of Jewish Affairs.
Yatom also pointed out that Putin's deliberate efforts to create a "tense atmosphere" in Russian-Israeli relations have the meaning of showing goodwill to Iran. On July 20, Putin visited Tehran and participated in a trilateral summit with Iran and Turkey.
Given that the Russian side has not exerted other pressure on Israel in addition to its rhetoric, Attom believes that the Israeli side should not put pressure on Russia now.
According to Reuters, Lapid instructed a group of Israeli legal experts to stand by and, once Russia agreed, immediately flew to Moscow to coordinate the settlement of the Jewish Affairs Bureau dispute. Only as of the afternoon of July 26, the men had not yet departed. According to Yatom, "There is still room for discussion of diplomatic issues with the Russians. Israel should "remain in the diplomatic realm."
On July 25, several senior Israeli security experts and diplomats told Haaretz that Israel should proceed cautiously and take measured action to resolve the crisis. Yaakov Amidror, Israel's former national security adviser, noted that Israel should not be "belligerent": "We must find solutions that will not lead to failed and disconnected communication between us and the Russians." If the situation deteriorates, Israel could decide to take strong measures, but we should be careful not to widen the gap between the two sides and worsen the situation. ”
Editor-in-Charge: Zhang Wuwei Photo Editor: Zhu Weihui
Proofreader: Luan Meng