The Russian authorities demanded from the management of the Jewish Agency for Israel to stop its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation.
This was reported by The Jerusalem Post.
The Jewish Agency for Israel received a corresponding letter from the Russian Ministry of Justice earlier this week. Now the organization office in Jerusalem, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel and the Prime Ministerʼs office, are preparing a response.
The Russian authorities took such a step against the backdrop of growing tensions between Israel and Russia due to Jerusalemʼs position on Russiaʼs war against Ukraine, Jerusalem Post journalists note. On Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry also called the strikes on Syria, which were blamed on Israel, unacceptable.
The Jewish Agency for Israel promotes the repatriation of Jews from all over the world to Israel. Therefore, the decision of the Russian authorities may deprive Russian Jews of the opportunity to emigrate to Israel. To date, thousands of people have completed their paperwork, but cannot fly out of Russia, because most international airlines have stopped flying to the Russian Federation due to sanctions.
"People from the Jewish community feel that an iron curtain is closing in on them and they are afraid that they will not be able to escape the country," sources in the Russian Jewish community told reporters, adding that "several Jews have said that the Russian authorities are trying to arrest them and that they fear for their lives."
- In May, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Lavrov stated in an interview with the Italian TV company "Mediaset" that Adolf Hitler had Jewish blood, and the most ardent anti-Semites are, as a rule, Jews. This is how Lavrov explained President Volodymyr Zelenskyyʼs argument about the absence of Nazism in Ukraine and the fact that he himself is of Jewish origin. In response, Israel summoned the Russian ambassador.
- President Vladimir Putin had to apologize to Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett for the anti-Semitic remarks of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov. However, this was not mentioned on the Kremlin website.