Israel warns Moscow against banning Jewish immigration group

The war in Ukraine is straining relations between Israel and Russia, according to Spiegel. Now the Russian Ministry of Justice is seeking to dismantle the Jewish Agency – thereby exacerbating tensions. The organization takes care of the immigration of Jews from all over the world to Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Jair Lapid warns that the relationship between the two countries will deteriorate if the Jewish Agency for Israel is indeed disbanded. A ban would be a “serious event,” Lapid said, according to his office. Consequently, a delegation is due to go to Moscow within the week in order to change the minds of the Russian authorities.

The Russian Ministry of Justice had filed a lawsuit against the non-governmental organization in the Moscow District Court. According to media reports, this is done for political reasons. A court hearing is scheduled for July 28.

Does Russia want to prevent further exodus?

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained on Friday that the Justice Ministry’s action against the organization was related to violations of Russian law. He dismissed speculation that Moscow wanted to prevent even more “bright minds” from Russia from immigrating to Israel.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Integration, almost 17,000 people have left Russia for Israel so far this year – more than double last year.

In Israel, however, people are convinced that Moscow’s ban on the Jewish Agency for Israel is aimed at punishing the country for its stance on the Ukraine war. The Israeli government condemned Russia’s attack on the neighboring country and expressed its solidarity with Ukraine. However, unlike Western states, Israel has yet to impose sanctions against Russia. Observers justify this with Israel’s security interests. Among other things, Russia has a great influence on the situation in Syria, a neighboring state of Israel.

Source: Capital

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