First Moscow court hearing on Jewish Agency’s fate ends without decision

The first hearing in the Russian government’s case against the Jewish Agency ended Thursday without any significant developments, leaving open the possibility for a deal to be reached before the next court session to save the organization’s offices from being closed.

Last week, the Russian justice ministry filed a motion seeking to shutter the quasi-governmental organization’s offices in the country, claiming that the Jewish Agency had violated local laws. Israeli officials and analysts, however, believe that Moscow is trying to send a threatening message to Jerusalem with its efforts against the group, which encourages and facilitates Jewish immigration to Israel, or aliyah.

The first hearing in the case was held in the Basmany district court in Moscow on Thursday morning, lasting roughly an hour. No arguments were heard in the meeting. Instead, the judge scheduled the next hearing for August 19, in which the first significant discussions were expected to be held.

Though Jewish Agency officials remain concerned about the fate of the organization, this indeterminate hearing was seen as preferable to an open-and-shut hearing in which the organization’s offices would be immediately ordered closed, as within the next three weeks some kind of compromise or agreement could be reached that would allow the Jewish Agency to continue operating to at least some degree in the country.

On Wednesday night, an Israeli government delegation with representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Foreign Ministry, the Justice Ministry and the Absorption Ministry set out for Moscow in an effort to convince Russia to allow the agency to continue its work in the country.

Israel has been trying to tamp down tensions with Russia, a major power and key player in the Middle East, whose motives for threatening the Jewish Agency remain unclear.

Russia has been sending mixed messages, with the Kremlin calling the dispute a purely legal matter, while its Foreign Ministry accused Israel of longstanding “unconstructive” and “biased” behavior toward Moscow.

Some argue that Moscow’s actions against the Jewish Agency were a response to Lapid’s unequivocal, ongoing condemnations of Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

In an interview with The Times of Israel on Monday, Moscow-born Israeli politician, journalist and analyst Ksenia Svetlova noted that Russia started threatening the Jewish Agency with sanctions at roughly the same time Lapid took over as premier.

“It didn’t happen under [former prime minister Naftali] Bennett. It didn’t happen under [former prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. There was something about this government,” said Svetlova, who is a contributor to Times of Israel Hebrew sister site Zman Yisrael.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Israel sought to walk a tightrope by supporting Kyiv but not antagonizing Moscow. Russia controls Syria’s airspace, where Israel carries out airstrikes against its enemies, mainly Iran and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah. Russia has also appeared to have grown closer to Iran in recent months, with the Iranians supplying Russia with armed drones for the war.

Last month, Russian authorities told the Jewish Agency that its offices could face sanctions over alleged infringements of local laws. Officials in the organization initially believed this to be a low-level issue that could be resolved with negotiations and compromise.

However, as Moscow continued to escalate the situation, the Jewish Agency reached out to the Foreign Ministry to intervene on its behalf.

Russia’s ultimate aims with its efforts to shutter the Jewish Agency are not entirely clear. Unlike in the past, Moscow has not yet clearly identified what step Israel could take that would prompt it to reverse course or what specific Israeli actions instigated its antagonism.

The dispute has also become fodder in Israeli politics, with opposition leader Netanyahu on Tuesday accusing Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, his political rivals, of mismanaging Israel’s relationship with Russia.