The fate of the Russian representative office of the Jewish Agency for Israel “Sohnut” will be decided on August 19 – on this day a meeting of the Basmanny Court on the case of closing the representative office is scheduled. The reason was the initiative of the Moscow Department of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, which filed a lawsuit on July 21 with an application for liquidation. DW – on the details of the crisis surrounding the Jewish Agency in the Russian Federation.

The first reports about the possible closure of Sokhnut’s representative office in Russia appeared in early July – Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post wrote that Russian authorities demanded that the organization cease its activities in the country. So in “Sohnut”, in fact, denied this news. The agency’s representative office and the organizations established by it “continue to carry out their activities in accordance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation. There have been no requests for immediate termination of activities”, assured Sokhnuta in response to a request from the RBC agency.

However, on July 21, the Basmanny Court announced that it had received an action from the Moscow Department of the Ministry of Justice with the demand to liquidate the representative office of the Sokhnut agency in Russia – due to the organization’s violation of Russian law in the course of your activities. It was not specified what type of violations were discussed.

Claims by Russian authorities

BBC Russian Service journalists discovered that in June the Ministry of Justice sent a 20-page letter to Sokhnut’s Moscow office with a list of claims and violations. According to a source close to Sokhnut’s leadership, Russian authorities had two main claims: improper handling of Russian personal data (collection and sending abroad) and brain drain.

The interlocutor further said that in the past three years, Sokhnut has faced an unprecedented number of inspections of its branches across Russia, as a result of which regulatory authorities have imposed fines. The Ministry of Justice took his payment as an admission of guilt and accused the Jewish Agency of continuing to work with allegedly identified and not eliminated violations.

“Now, in this 20-page letter, it is very popularly explained that, in the first place, they consider the fact that we paid the fine as confirmation of their guilt by the agency. Second, that these violations were not resolved even after paying administrative fines. And, on top of that, the fact that we contributed to helping people leave the country has a negative effect on the Russian Federation’s economy and prospects. This is just another argument,” the BBC quotes its interlocutor as saying.

What does the Jewish Agency do?

The Jewish Agency for Israel “Sohnut” has two main tasks: the repatriation of Jews to Israel and the preservation and promotion of Jewish identity. Sokhnut pays great attention to cultural and educational activities – the agency organizes Hebrew courses, educational programs and internships that contribute to the development of ties between Israelis and Jewish communities around the world, provides material assistance to vulnerable segments of the population in Israel and abroad. Sokhnut is also involved in charitable activities – for example, in Russia, the agency supports voluntary organizations that help the elderly and disabled – Jews and non-Jews.

Founded in 1929, the Jewish Agency for Israel has offices around the world. In Russia, “Sokhnut” managed to start work only in 1989 – in the last years of perestroika, with the beginning of the mass repatriation of Jews from the USSR to Israel. “Sohnut” does not engage in agitation of Jews for the purpose of emigrating to Israel and does not resolve issues related to granting the right of repatriation. It only helps to organize the exit process for those who have already received this right. The Jewish Agency pays for airfare to Israel and helps returnees settle in a new location.

According to Sokhnut, in 2021, repatriation to Israel has increased by 30%, and Russia has become the absolute leader in the number of returnees. Last year, 7,500 people arrived from the Russian Federation to Israel – 10% more than the year before.

Natan Sharansky – on the pressure on “Sohnut”

A few days before the Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit to liquidate Sokhnut’s representative office, the former head of this organization, former minister and deputy prime minister in four Israeli governments, Natan Sharansky, indicated in an interview with DW that, in his opinion, Sokhnut” has been in the spotlight of Russian authorities for a long time, after the start of the war with Ukraine eight years ago, when relations with the West first increased.

Nathan Sharansky

“Russia has adopted a series of laws and regulations on what can and cannot be done by public organizations associated with foreign countries. Among the restrictions was the impossibility of collecting information about Russian citizens and storing that information abroad.

For Sokhnut, this is an impossible thing, because that’s exactly what he does, he contacts those citizens who have the right to emigrate, he conducts various programs with them, he helps them leave for Israel,” Sharansky explained. Ministry The Russian Federation said to him that in Russia “everything depends on one person”: “As long as he treats you positively, what should you be afraid of?”

From the point of view of the former Sokhnut boss, the pressure on Israel through this organization is due to the fact that now this person (Russian President Vladimir Putin. – Ed.) “is looking for someone to put pressure on to break the isolation” in which Russia found itself due to the war in Ukraine.

A way to put pressure on Israel?

Commenting on the situation surrounding the Sokhnut agency in Russia, The Jerusalem Post also wrote that the claims are not of a legal nature, but of a political nature. Relations between Israel and Russia became more complicated after the start of the Russian war against Ukraine. Israel expressed support for Ukraine and condemned the Russian invasion, although it did not adhere to Western sanctions against Moscow. In May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview: “I could be wrong, but Hitler also had Jewish blood.” Russian President Vladimir Putin later apologized for Lavrov’s scandalous remarks to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Pinkhas Goldschmidt

On July 6, Moscow Chief Rabbi and Moscow Choral Synagogue Rabbi Pinchas Goldshmidt resigned. As an official reason, the press service of the city’s Jewish religious community called for the contract to expire, although in early June the rabbi was elected for a new term. Prior to that, the media reported that Pinchas Goldschmidt had left Russia. He himself admitted in an interview with the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung that, before leaving Russia, he faced psychological pressure from Russian authorities because of the war unleashed by the Kremlin in Ukraine.

Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs Nahman Shai directly linked the Russian Justice Ministry’s desire to close Sokhnut’s office with the Israeli government’s position regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Russian Jews will not be held hostage by the war in Ukraine. An attempt to punish the Jewish Agency for the Israeli position is reprehensible and insulting,” he told the Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel.

The crisis around Sokhnut was discussed by the presidents of Israel and the Russian Federation

Passions around the possible closure of the Jewish Agency’s representative office “Sokhnut” in Russia were heating up. There were reports in the media that the Ministry of Justice would not only liquidate the representative office, but also enroll the agency in the registry of foreign agents – along with other Israeli organizations operating in the Russian Federation, funded by Israel or the United States.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid

On July 24, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that the closing of Sokhnut’s office could seriously affect Israeli-Russian relations and urged that everything possible be done to resolve this issue through dialogue. Many observers took his words as a warning to Russian authorities. The next day, Israel Hayom reported that Lapid had instructed the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prepare a series of “political measures” against Russia in the event of the liquidation of Sokhnut’s representative office in the Russian Federation. Former Israeli ambassador to Moscow, Zvi Magen, told Israel Hayom that Israeli officials have several options to put pressure on Moscow, including adhering to Western sanctions.

On August 9, the crisis surrounding the Jewish Agency was discussed by the presidents of Israel and Russia, Yitzhak Herzog and Vladimir Putin. The telephone conversation took place on the initiative of the Israeli side. Upon its completion, a message appeared on the Kremlin’s website stating that Israel and Russia had agreed to continue contacts on this topic “through the relevant departments of both countries”.

“Sohnut” admits the possibility of physical withdrawal from Russia

Although some observers consider the conversation between the heads of the Russian Federation and Israel to be some sort of advance in the situation around the Sokhnut, the Jewish Agency itself is considering the possibility of completely abandoning its physical presence in Russia and transferring the repatriation work to a remote mode. This was written on Wednesday, August 10, by the Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post, citing a high-ranking source close to Sokhnut.

“The Jewish Agency will carry out all of its repatriation work from Israel – online or over the phone,” the source said. However, the problem, he said, is that Sokhnut will not be able to facilitate repatriation in Russia itself.