Russia Orders Jewish Agency to Stop All Operations in Country

By Staff, Agencies

The order was given in a letter received from the Russian Justice Ministry earlier this week. Officials in the Jewish Agency confirmed that the letter was received. They would not comment, however, on the response that is currently under consideration in the organization’s offices in al-Quds [Jerusalem] in consultation with the Foreign Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office.

“As part of the work of the Jewish Agency’s delegation in Russia, we are occasionally required to make certain adjustments, as required by authorities,” the agency said in response to a query from the Post. “The contacts with the authorities take place continuously, with the aim of continuing our activities in accordance with the rules set by the competent bodies. Even nowadays, such a dialogue takes place.”

A senior diplomatic official on Tuesday said: “Russia is saying the Jewish Agency illegally collected info about Russian citizens... We will bring up the Jewish Agency [with Russian authorities] and address it in an organized way. It will be taken care of at the embassy level. We don’t totally understand the reasoning [of the request to stop Jewish Agency’s activities in Russia].”

The order comes amid growing tension between the “Israeli” entity and Russia over the entity’s stance on the war in Ukraine and its policy of standing with Kiev and its leader Volodymyr Zelensky. On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry called strikes on Syria that have been blamed on the “Israeli” entity unacceptable, and it demanded an unconditional cessation of the attacks.

An order forcing the Jewish Agency to stop its work in Russia is dramatic and could directly undermine the ability of Russian Jews to immigrate to the “Israeli” entity. Thousands of them have finished their paperwork and have been waiting for flights to become available to the entity. However, the sanctions on Russia have caused most international airlines to stop flying to the country, and therefore, future immigrants are “stuck” in Russia, according to “Israeli” officials.

According to the Russian media outlet RBC, “The Jewish Agency for ‘Israel’ will continue to work in Russia in accordance with the law.” In response to the exclusive story in the Post about an official request of the Russian government to cancel the activities in the country, the RBC website said: “There have been no requests to stop [its] work.”

The reports about the possibility of JAFI’s closure were “speculation,” RBC quoted Russian Jewish Congress president Yuri Kanner as saying.