Joseph Puder
Yair Lapid, assuming the role of interim Prime Minister of Israel until the general election due on November 1, 2022, has coincided with rising tension between Jerusalem and Moscow. Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, has deemed Lapid as pro-Ukraine and anti-Russian. While Lapid’s immediate predecessor, Naftali Bennett, was careful of not crossing the line of neutrality, Lapid, already as Foreign Minister, positioned himself as pro-Ukraine.
Whether in response to western pressures for outright support for Kyiv, or to ingratiate himself to the Biden administration, Lapid has shown little diplomatic savviness in dealing with Russia. As a consequence, according to the Jerusalem Post (July 25, 2022), Moscow announced that the Jewish Agency and multiple other Russian-Jewish organizations have received warning letters from the Russian government. The Jewish Agency has received a letter from the Russian Justice Ministry that considered it a foreign agent, which might result in the agency being forced to close down.
Israel has remained one of the few western countries that did not impose sanctions on Russia, and has refrained from selling arms to Ukraine. Israel did however deliver medical and safety equipment to Ukraine. Lapid, as foreign minister, condemned Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, a step Bennett never took. Russia, for its part, rebuked Lapid for denouncing the Russian war crimes in Ukraine, and Israel voted to expel Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.
Tension between Russia and Israel arose earlier this year when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made an antisemitic statement, alleging the falsehood of “Hitler’s Jewish blood,” and blaming the Jews of being “the worst anti-Semites.” Israeli leaders expressed sheer outrage at Lavrov’s words. Lavrov’s foreign ministry did not stop at Lavrov’s insulting and antisemitic statements, issuing nasty statements such as “Israel supporting neo-Nazis in the Ukraine,” and claimed that Israeli mercenaries are fighting with the Ukrainian Azov Battalion.
Clearly, Moscow is aiming their latest measures on the Jewish Agency, and possibly on Israeli Air Force flights over Syria as retaliation against Yair Lapid statements and his close identification with Kyiv. Russia did not consider retaliating against Israel during Netanyahu’s terms as prime minister, or for that matter, during the recent Naftali Bennett stint as prime minister.
The Times of Israel reported (7/26/2022) that Likud leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Lapid of mismanaging Israel’s relationship with Russia. At a Tel Aviv press conference Netanyahu said, “For years, we have led a measured, balanced and responsible relationship with Russia, but there was currently a dangerous crisis and Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz were babbling and endangering our national security.” Netanyahu added, “I am worried that what we built over years is being undermined before our eyes in recent weeks.”
The apparent deteriorating relationship with Russia is of great concern to Israel, especially its impact on Israel’s security. Jerusalem is worried about Moscow’s possible actions to thwart Israeli attacks on Iranian shipments of lethal arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon over Syrian soil. Israeli fighter jets might be in danger of being shutdown on bombing missions against the Islamic Republic of Iran in Syria. Although it is doubtful that Russian pilots might challenge Israeli pilots over Syrian skies, Russia may deliver the S-400 mobile surface-to-air missile system, deemed a most effective air defense to Bashar Assad and/or the Iranians.
In December 2019, Israel revealed that it had an agreement with Russia not to sell arms to Ukraine and Georgia in exchange for Russia refraining from selling arms to Iran. Russia may now use Lapid’s tilt toward Ukraine as an excuse to sell arms to Iran.
The Russian invasion into Ukraine, with the continued war and atrocities committed since February this year has unsettled the relationship between Israel and Russia. The sanctions imposed on Russia made it gravitate toward the likes of radical Iran and China, forming what might become the new “axis of evil.”
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