Russia says Justice Ministry should decide on closure of Jewish Agency, amid tensions with Israel over Ukraine
Amid tensions with Israel over Ukraine, Russia says the country’s Ministry of Justice is in charge of deciding the fate of the Russian branch of the so-called Jewish Agency, which works to encourage the emigration of Jews to Israel, in response to the regime’s reaction against a legal bid for the institution’s liquidation.
Maria Zakharova, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said in an interview on Russian TV on Tuesday that Israeli authorities had taken a biased, anti-Russian stance on the Ukraine crisis.
She, however, dismissed suggestions that the Russian Foreign Ministry had a hand in the judicial proceedings against the Jewish Agency.
“It’s a question for the Ministry of Justice, that’s the information I have. It definitely is a legal matter,” Zakharova said when asked about the fate of the organization.
“Unfortunately, in recent months we have heard, at the level of statements, completely unconstructive and, most importantly, biased rhetoric from Tel-Aviv. It has been completely incomprehensible and strange to us,” she added.
Russia's Ministry of Justice last week called for the dissolution of the country's branch of the Agency on charges of breaches of privacy laws.
Relations between Moscow and Tel Aviv have become strained in recent months, after Israel condemned Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and summoned the country's ambassador over the issue.
In a statement on Sunday, Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid, who as foreign minister in March slammed Russian actions in Ukraine, said that a closing of the Jewish Agency branch would be “grave, with ramifications for (bilateral) relations.”
Lapid’s office, however, said on Tuesday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had exchanged “written greetings,” without providing further details on the correspondence.
Ukraine has been at war with Russia since President Vladimir Putin declared a military operation in the neighboring country in late February.
Israel has slammed the Russian military campaign and promised to expand assistance to Kiev.
Observers had already predicted that the Russia-Ukraine crisis could put Israel in a difficult spot, as the Tel Aviv regime has good relations with both Moscow and Kiev.
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