Similarly to the Jewish Agency, multiple other Russian-Jewish organizations have received warning letters from the Russian government stating that they may be considered to be foreign agents.
Multiple Russian Jewish organizations have received threatening letters from the Russian Justice ministry regarding their work, similar to the letter received by the Jewish Agency earlier this month.
The Jerusalem Post has learned that a few Jewish organizations operating in Russia are in a similar situation to the Jewish Agency, which has received a letter from the Russian government, stating that it may be considered to be a foreign agent, which could result in their organization being forcibly closed down.
One of the organizations has responded to the Post’s request for comment and sent a statement claiming that “there is no change in our work in Russia.” Yet the Post understands that these organizations, mainly kept in operation by American or Israeli funds, have decided to lower their profile and only do work that is necessary or urgent.
Jewish organizations that are considered to be local, without any foreign funding or influence haven’t received similar letters and can operate freely – even though many of them are still choosing to keep a very low public profile.
Russian-Jewish sources explained on Monday that the Jewish Agency in Russia has been under very close surveillance for many years now.
“I remember participating in an aliyah conference of the agency in Russia about 7 years ago and it was closed down by The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB RF),” one source who participated in the conference said of the main successor agency to the Soviet Union’s KGB.
“The FSB RF agents actually accompanied the Israeli participants of the conference to Israel on their flight,” the source added.
Russia forcing Jewish Agency to stop operations in the country
As learned by the Post three weeks ago, the Russian government has ordered the Jewish Agency to cease all operations inside the country. The order was given in a letter received from the Russian Justice Ministry. Officials in the Jewish Agency confirmed that the letter was received and later officially responded on the matter.
The forced closure of the Jewish Agency’s offices in Russia will have a serious impact on Israel-Russia relations, Prime Minister Yair Lapid warned on Sunday.
“Relations with Russia are important to Israel,” he said, “[but] the Jewish community in Russia is large and important and comes up in every diplomatic discussion with the government in Moscow.”
Lapid’s remarks came after the Russian Justice Ministry took action against the agency, claiming it was illegally gathering information about Russian citizens. The Israeli organization, which coordinates efforts for Jews around the world to move to Israel, among other activities, has taken steps to move its Russian operations to Israel and online.
Jerusalem views the matter as diplomatic and not a legal matter. As such, Israel is considering numerous retaliatory steps should the Russian authorities shut down the Jewish Agency’s offices, including further delaying proceedings on the ownership of the Alexander Courtyard in Jerusalem, which Moscow believes should be its property or further acts in support of Ukraine in the war with Russia. Another possibility is to call back Israel’s Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben-Zvi for consultations.
The prime minister held a classified meeting on Sunday with Immigration and Absorption Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata; Housing and Construction Minister Ze’ev Elkin, who has served as the past two prime ministers’ translator in meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin; and senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office, Foreign Ministry and National Security Council, as well as from the Jewish Agency.
A participant in the meeting said that Russia’s actions were “an attack on the heart of the essence of the State of Israel. There is a real fear that the aliyah [Jewish immigration] from Russia will stop, and therefore the Israeli government is investing as much time and effort as needed.”
Following up on a plan announced last week to send a legal delegation to Russia for talks about the matter, Lapid instructed delegates to be ready to fly to Russia immediately upon authorization from Moscow. He told them to make every effort to exhaust the legal dialogue and high-level diplomatic talks to allow the Jewish Agency to once again help Russian Jews immigrate to Israel.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post