"
Deplorable, offensive
" and "
political
": in Israel, Moscow's desire to close the Jewish Agency is considered a punitive measure in reaction to the positions of the new Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, against the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
A Moscow court said on Thursday (July 21st) that the Russian Justice Ministry had asked for the para-governmental agency responsible for Jewish immigration to Israel to be dissolved on its soil, citing violations of the law.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reaffirmed that the measure was a matter of "
respecting Russian law
".
"Violation of the world order"
Promising to "
act through diplomatic channels
" to allow the organization to continue its work, Yair Lapid announced the dispatch of an Israeli delegation to Moscow next week.
Other voices within the government grew louder, with Diaspora Minister Nahman Shai saying that "
the attempt to punish the Jewish Agency for Israel's stance on the war was deplorable and offensive
."
“
Russian Jews will not be taken hostage by the war in Ukraine
,” he tweeted.
Read alsoRussia: the Ministry of Justice calls for the dissolution of the Jewish Agency
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, Israel initially took a cautious stance, with then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arguing for special ties to both countries, as the Jewish state has more one million citizens from the former Soviet Union.
Yaïr Lapid, then head of diplomacy, had strongly condemned "
a serious violation of the international order
".
“
It is clear to everyone involved in Russian-Israeli relations that the decision (concerning the Jewish Agency) is political, given Israel's and Lapid's stance on the war in Ukraine
,” the commentator wrote on Friday. politics Itamar Eichner in the newspaper Yediot Aharonoth.
For analyst Ksenia Svetlova, if the Russian intention is part of a context of general hardening vis-à-vis foreign organizations, it is also a question for Moscow of "
interfering
" in the Israeli elections, during which the he former Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving in the history of Israel removed from power in June 2021 by the Bennett-Lapid alliance, hopes to sign his big comeback.
"Express displeasure"
“
This may be a measure to curb (Yair Lapid), prevent him from selling arms to Ukraine or providing any other form of support, but also a gesture towards the one who 'constantly attacking and who wants to replace him, Netanyahu
,' Ksenia Svetlova of the Israeli research center Mitvim told AFP.
Between the two countries, there is also question of a quarrel over the property rights of a Russian church in Jerusalem, a file on which "
the Russians want to put pressure
", estimates Itamar Eichner.
But for Michael Oren, Israel's former ambassador to the United States, the case is above all a matter of geopolitics in the Middle East, while the Jewish state is carrying out raids in neighboring Syria, where Moscow is present in support of the regime.
Israel notably targets groups close to Iran, its number one enemy.
"
The main question is that of our ability to operate freely in Syria, while Russia constantly threatens us to act against us there
", affirms Michael Oren, for whom attacking the Jewish Agency "
is a way more easy to express dissatisfaction
.
The Israeli strikes against Damascus airport or the port of Tartous, where Moscow has a naval base, have particularly "
angry the Russians
", adds Itamar Eichner.
With the invasion of Ukraine, Russia's isolation on the international scene is pushing it "
by
leaps and bounds" towards Iran, Ms. Svetlova also underlines, a few days after a summit between the Russian, Iranian and Turkish in Tehran.
Read alsoMoscow threatens to close the iron curtain on Russian Jews tempted by exile in Israel
"
The long-term Israeli policy is to maintain good relations with Russia (...) while preventing arms sales to Iran
," she adds.
“
It is not certain that Israel can achieve this because the camps in the Middle East have become clear, the visits of (Joe) Biden (in Israel) and (Vladimir) Putin (in Iran) have shown it
” .