For many days now, people have been talking with anxiety and even anger about the relationship between the Russian government and the Jewish Agency, and no one finds the courage to ask: Is it really so great the damage and threat to Russian Jewry in particular, and to Judaism in general, if the activities of the Jewish Agency there are stopped?
The answer is, of course, no.
Not only will no harm be caused by the cessation of this activity, it is even possible that the goat will turn out to be sweet, and that providence rolled the developments in favor of the Jewish people.
Let's start with Russian Judaism itself: Jewish life today in Russia is better than in certain Western countries, for example France.
Antisemitism is not on the Russian agenda, thank God.
A Jew wearing a turban walking with his children who have a prominent Jewish appearance on Tverskaya, the main avenue of Moscow, is a shocking and heartwarming vision.
The well-being of the Jewish individual in Russia is one of the most famous.
On top of that, the Jewish citizens benefit from the value load provided by Russian education: the attitude to books, to culture and to parents, values that have been corrupted in the western democratic world, which instills liberal values that have not yet permeated Russian culture.
Not pleasant-not terrible: Russian President Putin, photo: Reuters
From here to the aliyah issue: there is no doubt that the agency maintains activities in Russia that strengthen Jewish communal life, but most Jewish organizations in Russia will not shed a tear, to say the least, over the possibility that the agency's activities in Russia will be stopped in regards to encouraging aliyah.
This is due to the fact that the agency encourages the immigration to Israel of Russian citizens who have no connection to Judaism and who are not Jewish in any way, but are entitled to the Law of Return - mainly through the extension known as the "grandchild law".
As a result of the agency's activity, the proportion of Jews among the immigrants is decreasing, and in fact a path is being created for massive immigration of non-Jews to Israel.
Perhaps the agency believes that in doing so it is following the path of most of the Zionist leadership in the early days of the state, which saw quantity as equivalent to quality, but then it was about the quantity of Jews, not of those who are not.
The situation of the Jews in Russia is relatively good compared to the rest of Europe: the Kremlin, photo: AFP
It is not far-fetched to think that encouraging mass immigration, as is done in the agency, is one of the triggers for the Russians to threaten to stop its activities.
The authorities view with disfavor a brain drain, which in their view was created thanks to a combination of Russian investment in education together with Jewish genius.
Another reason why the Jewish organizations in Russia will not particularly regret the narrowing of the agency's steps in Russia is that those organizations believe that the main emphasis should be placed on Jewish education for young Jews, so that when they immigrate to Israel they will have a solid Jewish identity.
According to those organizations, encouraging the immigration of children who have not yet received a Jewish education means that there is no chance that the child will grow up in Israel with a rooted Jewish identity.
Eating falafel and wiping hummus, and even serving in the IDF, does not give you a Jewish identity. Israeli - definitely; but that's not enough. On the other hand, a young Jewish teenager who receives a basic Jewish education in Russia - will remain so for the rest of his life, and so will the liberal and secular atmosphere in the country You will not succeed in undermining his Jewish identity.
The writer is a lawyer specializing in the treatment of Israeli prisoners abroad, in cooperation with governmental and judicial bodies in Russia.
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