An Israeli delegation of legal experts to Moscow has been postponed due to a delay in approval from Russian officials, a new sign of tension between the two nations that threatens their uneasy alliance.
The Israeli delegation seeks to speak at a hearing concerning the shutting down of the Jewish Agency, which acts as an independent Russian organization that helps Jews migrate to Israel, on Russian soil. A preliminary hearing was scheduled to take place on Thursday. Officials are worried the delegation may not arrive in time to present an argument in favor of the agency, according to Haaretz.
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Israeli officials are struggling to understand whether the Russian Justice Ministry’s appeal to a court in Moscow to remove the Jewish Agency is retribution for Israel’s soft support of Ukraine or a domestic legal battle separate from Israel’s foreign actions.
“It’s important to say that the demands of the Russian authorities from the Jewish Agency began back over a year ago, a long time before the war in Ukraine or the appointment of Yair Lapid as prime minister. It seems to be a legal incident that deteriorated into a diplomatic incident,” said an official involved with the two nations.
“So far, we have not managed to understand whether it is a diplomatic incident and whether they want to use it to take revenge or to get something in return in other, completely different areas. It could be that they are angry about the Israeli support for Ukraine, it could be anger over the Israeli attacks in Syria, and it could be that this is an attempt to speed up the transfer of the Alexander [Nevsky Church] to Russian hands. We can’t say at this stage,” another official added.
The new Israeli prime minister, Yair Lapid, is attempting to tread carefully amid the first major spat with Russia during his tenure, condemning the action without calling for retaliation.
“Closing the Jewish Agency offices will be a serious incident that will affect relations,” Lapid said.
Lapid has directed the Foreign Ministry, which headed the delegation of legal experts to Russia, to use all diplomatic means possible to resolve this matter before it deteriorates into a real crisis.
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Israel, which relies on cooperation with Russia and its allies in Syria to strike Iranian targets, is in a precarious situation. If Israel were denied the airspace needed to conduct such strikes by Russia, then Iran and its allies would be able to operate without the threat of Israeli interference.
The need for such security has forced Israel to be cautious in its support for Ukraine, not wanting relations with Russia to deteriorate past a point of no return.
