In recent days, a serious diplomatic conflict has been smoldering between Israel and Russia. Topics that are very sensitive for both countries are touched upon – the repatriation of Jews to Israel and religious symbols of Russia. But not so long ago, both countries managed to maintain a truly unique balance in their relations. What broke it?
It all started with the publication by the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post of "exclusive information" about Moscow's intention to close the work of the Jewish Agency in Russia (or, as it is also called, "Dry Up").
"The Russians say that the Jewish Agency illegally collects data on citizens of the Russian Federation. We will raise the issue of the fate of the agency during conversations with representatives of Russia at the embassy level. We don't quite understand the reasons for what is happening," said the interlocutor of the Israeli edition in the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
The Iron Curtain?
And this is a serious issue for Tel Aviv. The purpose of the agency is to promote Aliyah – that is, the emigration of Jews to Israel. In fact, "Dry" participates in pumping out the most talented and intelligent people from all over the world to Israel. And in Tel Aviv, they think that this is normal. "Aliyah is an inalienable right of Russian Jews, and we will do everything to ensure that it remains such a right," said Israeli Minister for Aliyah and Integration Pnina Tamino–Shete.
Immediately, rumors began to spread that Moscow was again closing the Iron Curtain for Jewish emigration. "If the Jewish Agency stops working in Russia, it will be the first ban in the last 30 years of a single country on the implementation of Aliyah and the return of Jews to Israel," Jewish organizations in Canada are outraged.
However, the agency itself denied the information about the closure. "The representative office of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the organizations established by the Jewish Agency for Israel in the Russian Federation continue to carry out their activities in accordance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation," Sohnut said in a statement. – There was no demand for immediate termination of activity." Representatives of the agency made it clear that the Russian Ministry of Justice had only made a number of administrative claims to them, which "Dry Up" will now be executed."
The Russian authorities also did not confirm the information of the Jerusalem Post – and in rather harsh words. "The article is a provocation, which was stated to the Israeli side," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
No need to rock and swing
Accordingly, the question arises: what was it? According to one version, everything is really not worth a damn. The Ministry of Justice, after checking the Sokhnut, presented the organization with a list of violations that it is obliged to eliminate.
"Contradictory information. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed this information, and the Jewish Agency in Moscow denied it. I assume that these are some kind of regulatory measures, when the Ministry of Justice says to eliminate this and that, otherwise the activity will be terminated. The situation is strange: some confirm, others refute," says Borukh Gorin, head of the Public Relations Department of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia.
And indeed, according to Russian law, refusal to comply with the laws of the Russian Federation can actually lead to the closure of the organization. Linking these two theses, Jerusalem Post decided to concoct a sensation out of the blue.
There are, however, other points of view. According to one of them, the Russian Federation is dissatisfied with the activities of Sokhnut and in general with the current immigration policy of Israel. Taking advantage of the general instability, "Dry" could increase efforts to siphon young talents from Russia (over the past few months, almost 30 thousand people from Ukraine and Russia have moved to Israel).
"Whatever the formal reasons for the letter, Russia is really dissatisfied with the number of Jews leaving the country: businessmen, scientists, cultural representatives and everyone else. In particular, apparently, the Kremlin is annoyed by the record mass exodus and the fact that yesterday's Russian elite (and not only cultural) is making passports for themselves. And, of course, loud emigrant festivals like "SlovoNovo", which have become a platform for anti-war statements. All this causes irritation in the Kremlin," writes Israeli political analyst Mark Novikov.
Finally, there is another point of view in which the problems in Russian-Israeli relations are not limited to the migration issue. "It's not about "Drying out." This is just an excuse. They just hit the easiest target. One way or another, we are witnessing a crisis in bilateral relations, a change of course and atmosphere," former Israeli Ambassador to Russia Zvi Magen is quoted by Russian media as saying. – Recently, I have noticed an increase in criticism from the Russian side of Israel's actions, whether it concerns Syria or policy towards Iran. Nothing has changed from our side, everything we do and say now, we have done and said before. Russia's policy has changed and, perhaps, its interests in the Middle East have changed."
The point, however, is not in the interests of Russia, but in the actions of Israel. Actions that undermine the very specific bilateral relations that have developed between the countries in recent years.
The word must be kept
Everyone understands that Israel is an ally of the United States and an opponent of Russian partners in the Middle East. However, Russian-Israeli contacts were distinguished by an extremely high level of trust, based primarily on personal trusting relations between Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu (now the former Prime Minister of Israel).
Trust was so high that, according to a number of leaks, Moscow and Tel Aviv concluded a very complicated non-public deal in the summer of 2015 (that is, on the eve of the start of the Russian special operation in Syria). As part of this deal, Israel did not prevent Russia from clearing Syria of terrorists, and Russia pledged to ensure that high-tech Russian weapons transferred to Syrian troops did not fall into the hands of Hezbollah (well, or into the hands of Iran, from where they left Hezbollah).
Moreover, if these weapons did fall, then Moscow did not prevent the Israelis from resolving the issue in an Israeli way - that is, to bomb warehouses or convoys with these weapons (warning Russia beforehand about this, so as not to accidentally hit Russian soldiers). Also part of the bilateral relations was the exchange of partners – Russia agreed not to sell a number of high-tech weapons to Iran, and Israel limited its military-technical cooperation with Georgia and Ukraine.
However, recently Tel Aviv has begun to violate its obligations.
The warning about strikes in Syria began to be formal (that is, the information was delivered about a minute before the strike), and in addition, negotiations on the supply of Israeli weapons to Ukrainian terrorists were actively underway. Finally, Israel has not fulfilled its obligations to transfer the Alexander Farmstead in Jerusalem to Russia (which, according to some information, was part of a comprehensive deal concluded several years ago between Israel and Russia).
Moscow hoped that Tel Aviv would keep its word. "The Israeli authorities show an understanding of the need to restore this justice, and I am sure that we will complete this process in the foreseeable future. And we will not wait until Dynamo wins the Cup of the Russian Federation – we will do it soon after Spartak wins the cup," Minister Lavrov said in June. Recall that the Spartak football club, whose fan is the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, won the Cup of Russia at the end of May.
Thus, the story of the "Sohnut" could really look like the last Russian warning. As a kind of signal to the new Israeli authorities that there is no need to repeat the mistakes of their predecessors.
"The newly minted Prime Minister Yair Lapid was invited to the dialogue. And the issue will be resolved at his level. What exactly the Russian authorities will ask in exchange for the continuation of the work of "Dry" without problems, we will definitely find out, such is the nature of Israeli politics and the Israeli media. Personally, I believe that the case will not be limited to the conditional Alexander farmstead, but everything depends on Lapid. It cannot be ruled out that after a personal acquaintance, all claims will disappear by themselves as a "gesture of goodwill," says Mark Novikov.
Gevorg Mirzayan, Associate Professor of Finance University
