The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is optimistic: it is estimated that the Jewish Agency crisis will end soon Israel today

Is the crisis of the Jewish Agency on the way to a solution?

The court in Moscow responded today (Monday) to the request of the agency's attorneys, and granted an additional one-month postponement of the ongoing legal proceedings against it.

In Jerusalem they are satisfied with the ruling and see it as a positive sign.

"We asked for the postponement in order to correct the activities of the 'Ano' association, which consolidates the agency's activities in Russia, so that it conforms to the local law," a political source privy to the details of the crisis told Israel Hayom.

"The fact that the Russians responded to this is an indication that they are open to the idea of ​​continuing the agency's activities in the country."

Chairman of the Jewish Agency Doron Almog, photo: Oren Ben Hakon

The Russian Ministry of Justice asked the court to shut down the agency's activities on the grounds that it "illegally collects information about Russian citizens."

On the other hand, in Israel they claimed that it was trivial information such as identity card numbers, phone numbers and email addresses of Jews who showed interest in immigrating to Israel or in other activities of the agency in Russia.

The working assumption in Jerusalem was that the crisis was based on the political considerations of the Kremlin, and not necessarily the official legal considerations.

One hypothesis was that Moscow is not satisfied with the Israeli position regarding the war in Ukraine.

Other possible reasons that have been raised are dissatisfaction with the IDF's activities in Syria, and perhaps even frustration with the delay in transferring the Alexander Court complex in Jerusalem to Russian sovereignty.

Vladimir Putin.

Israelis believe that the crisis comes for political reasons, photo: AFP

In addition, in Jerusalem, the hypothesis was raised that the Russians are not satisfied with the brain drain that is the result of the activities of the Agency for Encouraging Immigration to Israel.

Russia has been suffering from this phenomenon for years, and it was aggravated after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

With the outbreak of the crisis, Prime Minister Lapid made it clear that the closure of the agency's activities in Russia would have significant consequences for relations between the countries.

Lapid, who also serves as foreign minister, even ordered the creation of a team in the ministry to formulate possible responses to Russian actions against the agency.

Throughout the crisis, at the same time as the open legal channel, diplomatic officials worked behind the scenes in an attempt to reach a compromise, including Prime Minister Lapid and President Herzog.

In Jerusalem, they are now waiting for the next court hearing, scheduled for October 19, but as mentioned, after the hearing today, optimism has increased that the crisis is getting closer to a solution.

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