Moscow -

At a remarkable pace, the deterioration of Russian-Israeli relations is accelerating, in a way that was not familiar since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in the early nineties of the last century.

The differences between Moscow and Tel Aviv came out into the open with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, and Israel taking political and operational positions in support of Kiev, which included - according to what some Russian media outlets reported - sending weapons and fighters, despite Tel Aviv's denials, and its assertion that it is limited to humanitarian aid and protective equipment.

Postponement of consideration for the seventh time in the case of closing the agency's offices spread in several Russian cities (Reuters)

The end of the "honeymoon"?

Russian-Israeli relations have always been characterized by combining the criterion of pragmatism and balance, despite the multiple problematic files between them, but in recent months, tensions have clearly escalated, due to - what Russian observers see - Tel Aviv's persistence in siding with Kiev, and taking provocative steps against Moscow.

Even Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is described as professional and careful in choosing diplomatic phrases, did not find it embarrassing during an interview with an Italian newspaper to criticize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and refer to his Jewish origin, and then Tel Aviv responded to him with anger and considered his statement disgraceful and unforgivable.

The visit of "support" by the Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, to Kiev recently, was one of the most intense tensions between the Hebrew state and Moscow, and it is the first visit of its kind by an Israeli official at this level to Ukraine since the start of the war.

Sergey Lavrov criticized the Ukrainian president and referred to his Jewish origin (Al-Jazeera)

postponed for the seventh time

In this atmosphere, the crisis of the Jewish Agency's representation in Russia (Sakhnot) comes to the fore again in the scene of tense Russian-Israeli relations, after the Basmanny Court in Moscow postponed to March 30 the consideration of the lawsuit of the Moscow Department of the Ministry of Justice regarding the liquidation of the Russian branch of the agency.

This is the seventh time that consideration of the request of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation regarding the closure of the agency's offices in several Russian cities has been postponed, after Sakhnot's lawyers demanded that they be given additional time to prepare their pleadings.

What is new in this controversial case is the statement of the representative of the Russian Ministry of Justice that the ministry will not withdraw the lawsuit it filed to request the liquidation of the Jewish Agency, even if the agency corrects the violations and irregularities it committed.

In this context, it is noteworthy that the representatives of the Ministry of Justice objected to the postponement of the hearing each time, saying that the defendant was delaying the process.

The Russian Ministry of Justice believes that the Jewish Agency has violated the law and the constitution (Reuters)

Brain displacement

The Russian Ministry of Justice considers that the agency violated the law and the Constitution, specifically Article 17, which guarantees the rights and freedoms of human beings and citizens in Russia, as the “Personal Data” law confirms that when processing personal data of citizens, it is necessary to guarantee the right to privacy and personal and family secrets.

However, the organization - according to the words of the Ministry of Justice - "created circumstances under which the legitimate rights and interests of citizens were not respected, and it did not obtain the consent of those whose personal data was collected."

The agency has also been accused of committing violations of the law since 2019, including being selective in choosing those who are assisted to immigrate to Israel, as it gives priority to highly qualified specialists in various fields.

Settling scores

Russian observers do not mind that the issue in its true dimension is a form of settling scores between Moscow and Tel Aviv, especially as it comes at a time when Tel Aviv is hinting at going further in supporting Kiev, which means - in the end - almost complete agreement with the positions. West of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

And according to what the Russian expert on Middle Eastern affairs, Andrei Ontikov, says, there are indications in Moscow that Israel has provided Kiev with intelligence information to combat Iranian drones, which, according to Ontikov, are allegedly being sent to Russia by Tehran.

And he explains - in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net - that Israel is preparing for the option of (not shy) military support for Kiev, including missile defense systems, after it had hesitated to do so in anticipation of reaching a final break with Moscow, the latter may find itself in the event that it must respond, One of its most important forms was giving the Syrians free hand in using Russian air defense systems against Israeli attacks, closing Syrian airspace in the face of Israeli warplanes, and activating the anti-aircraft missile systems in Damascus.

Vladimir Putin's visit to Tehran was one of the chapters of tension between Israel and Russia (Reuters)

The discourse changed

As for the director of the Center for Political Forecasting, Denis Karkodinov, it is not excluded that the court’s decision and the Ministry of Justice’s insistence on liquidating the existence of the Sakhnot organization came as a response to the visit of the Israeli Foreign Minister to Kiev and the promises made there, likely that Tel Aviv will begin to catch up with the sanctions engineers, even if Indirectly by selling gas to Russia's former customers in Europe.

And he continues that Moscow clearly understood the recent package of Israeli messages, and in recent days it took a number of steps that Tel Aviv hastened as very dangerous for future relations between the two countries, such as banning the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency.

Additional indications of Moscow's dissatisfaction with the Israeli rhetoric - according to Karkodinov - include Putin's visit to Tehran to attend the summit of the three leaders, the issuance of a joint statement condemning the Israeli air strikes on Syria and calling on Tel Aviv to stop them, and most importantly, the approach of Russian-Iranian relations to the stage of strategic cooperation.

Karkodinov added that Israel's continued abandonment of its historical balance in relations with Russia may be its first "victim" of the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency, which - according to him - will be the beginning of the end of a "honeymoon" that has spanned more than 3 decades.