Kremlin, Sensing Lack of Support on Ukraine, Wheels on the Jewish Agency

Israel, after long being criticized in Washington and Kyiv over its supposed insufficient support of Ukraine, is now being attacked from the other side: The Kremlin today threatened to shut down a Moscow-based Zionist agency in apparent retaliation for perceived anti-Russian policies. Jerusalem’s ties with Moscow are complex. The two have long coordinated military activities over Syria; at the same time, Jerusalem voted against Russia at the United Nations, though that hasn’t stopped American critics from accusing the Israelis of fence-sitting. President Zelensky recently chided Hebrew university students, saying “we can’t say we’ve gotten any” war assistance from Israel.On July 1, the Israeli prime minister’s office got a new resident, Yair Lapid, who has criticized the Russian invasion of Ukraine more vocally than his predecessor, Naftali Bennett — much to Moscow’s chagrin. After quietly messaging to Jerusalem that the Kremlin would not stand for pro-Ukrainian policies, Russia started going public with diplomatic warnings, culminating in today’s action at Moscow. The Russian justice ministry “asks to liquidate the Jewish agency known as Sokhnut,” a government-owned news agency, Ria Novosti, reported today. Sokhnut is the Hebrew-language name of the Jewish Agency, a quasi-governmental Israeli body with offices around the world. The Ria Novosti report noted that the Russian justice ministry’s request was made at Moscow’s Basmanni court, where the case will be heard next Thursday. An Israeli news site, Ynet, is reporting that a delegation from Jerusalem’s national security council is planning to travel to Moscow for negotiations with the Kremlin ahead of the court hearing. Days after Mr. Lapid assumed office, the Jerusalem Post reported that the Kremlin is demanding information on the Jewish Agency’s activities at the Moscow office, asking for various documents and communication records. The justice ministry claimed the agency’s work may violate Russian law.Following the Post’s report, the Jewish Agency denied it was asked to close its Moscow offices. Today’s demand for “liquidation,” however, clearly signals an escalation in the crisis. Founded in 1929 by the future first Israeli president, Haim Weitzman, the Jewish Agency has been a major player in Israel’s history. The country’s George Washington, David Ben Gurion, became the agency’s chairman in 1935, and in that role he went on to declare Israel’s independence in 1948.After independence, the Jewish Agency’s main task was to help diaspora Jews emigrate to Israel, an act known as “ascendence,” or Aliyah in Hebrew. According to its website, the agency “provides the global framework for Aliyah, ensures global Jewish safety, strengthens Jewish identity, and connects Jews to Israel and one another.”Brain-drain concerns in several countries have led to friction between the governments and the emigration-promoting agency. During the Cold War the Soviet Union’s denial of Jewish emigration from the USSR became a major rallying cry in the free world.The current Kremlin demand to shut off the Jewish Agency is seen in Israel as a return to the days when Moscow used Russian Jews as pawns to advance its geostrategic goals. “Russian Jews will not be held hostage by the war in Ukraine,” Israel’s minister of diaspora affairs, Nachman Shai, tweeted today. “The attempt to punish the Jewish Agency for Israel’s stance on the war is deplorable and offensive. The Jews of Russia cannot be detached from their historical and emotional connection to the State of Israel.”In March, during a visit to Romania as foreign minister, Mr. Lapid condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying it “has no justification.” He called on Russia to “stop the shooting and the attacks and solve the problems around the negotiating table.” Mr. Bennett, in contrast, refrained from directly criticizing Russia and attempted instead to become a mediator between Moscow and Kyiv.The Israeli government policy, however, has not changed since Mr. Lapid took over: Israel is delivering humanitarian aid to Ukraine — early in the war it operated the first foreign-staffed field hospital there. Yet, at least officially, Jerusalem refrains from sending arms and other lethal military aid to the Ukrainian army. Although the government remains steadfast in its Ukraine policy Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Monday that the Russian ambassador at Tel Aviv, Anatoly Viktorov, was worried about relations between Russia and Israel. According to the report, Mr. Viktorov expressed fears that ties will worsen under Mr. Lapid.Today, Mr. Viktorov denied harboring such concerns, saying the Channel 12 report was “a lie, a provocation, and a lack of professionalism.” In an embassy statement, he added that it was “an attempt to fraudulently mislead the Israeli public, to drive a wedge between Russia and Israel, to cast a shadow on the friendly Russian-Israeli relations.”Perhaps so, but employees at the Jewish Agency’s Moscow office await with dread a court ruling that ultimately could drive a major wedge between Israel and Russia.

Kremlin, Sensing Lack of Support on Ukraine, Wheels on the Jewish Agency

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