Russia’s efforts to shut down the Jewish Agency offices in the country could be “grave” for relations with Israel, Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Sunday.
The Russian government is using legal channels to shut down the Jewish Agency’s offices in the country, a move that was condemned by Jerusalem last week as “deplorable and offensive”.
State media reported that Vladimir Putin’s government filed papers with the Basmanny district court, Moscow, to silence the Jerusalem-based organisation. The case will be heard on 28 July.
Ekaterina Buravtsova, a spokesperson for the court in Moscow, told Interfax news agency that the request was made after “legal violations”. She did not provide further details.
Lapid, who also serves as Foreign Minister, announced that a delegation would be sent to Moscow to discuss the matter, and members of that delegation met to assess the situation on Sunday.
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View of the Jewish Agency headquarters in Jerusalem, November 29, 2016 (Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
In a statement after the meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office said: “Prime Minister Lapid said in the meeting that ties with Russia are important to Israel. The Jewish community in Russia is large and important and comes up in every diplomatic discussion with the administration in Moscow.
“Closing the Jewish Agency’s offices would be a grave event, which will have consequences on those ties.”
The delegation was expected to depart for Moscow on Monday, but the statement added that the delegation would leave when “it receives Russian approval for the talks”.
The delegation is reported to include representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office, the National Security Council, Foreign Ministry, Justice Ministry, and Immigration and Absorption Ministry and will be overseen by Foreign Ministry Director General Alon Ushpiz.
Two ministers who immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union – Moldova-born Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and Ukraine-born Construction Minister Zeev Elkin were part of Sunday’s meeting, alongside Immigration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata.
The reasons for Moscow’s moves against the Jewish Agency – which assists and facilitates Jewish immigration to Israel – remain unclear. It was initially believed that it was a low-level issue that could be resolved, but the agency has since asked Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for help.
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Recep Tayyip Erdogan (middle), Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (right) and Vladimir Putin (left) in Tehran on 19 July (Getty Images)
Speaking to the Times of Israel on the condition of anonymity, a Jewish Agency official said: “We tried to keep things low-key and sort it out by exchanging letters with lawyers and trying to reach a compromise. Now that they took it to court, it is clear that they are not looking for compromise or negotiations. It is clear that this is a political move.”
There is speculation that it could be in retaliation for Israel’s support of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, or as a result of Russia’s closer ties with Iran. President Putin visited Tehran just last week.
Moscow has also expressed discomfort with Israel’s continued airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria, with whom Russia is closely aligned.
For the time being, the agency is continuing as normal: “We will operate as usual for as long as we can,” the anonymous official said. “And we are preparing ourselves for all possible scenarios.”
