Israel, Russia move to reduce tensions: ‘The less we talk about it the better’

President Isaac Herzog indicated Tuesday that Israel was trying to keep a low profile in the growing dispute with Moscow over Russia’s moves toward limiting the operations of the Jewish Agency in the country amid reports that both countries were trying to lower tensions.

Speaking at a conference held by Israel’s Channel 13 news, Herzog, who headed the Jewish Agency between 2018 and 2021, said that while the issue was “close to his heart,” he considered it better to keep public mentions of it to the minimum.

“I have been fully cooperating with Prime Minister Yair Lapid… I will assist wherever I can,” said Herzog, who met with Lapid on Monday evening.

“Some things are better left unsaid,” the president said.

“I believe that the less we speak about it, the better we’ll be. It will allow proper treatment of the issue,” he added.

Herzog continued: “Russia is an important country. There could be numerous different scenarios and explanations to why and how this happened… Let’s let the issue play out. The less we talk about it and the more we do, the better.”

Despite his largely ceremonial role, the current government has repeatedly made use of Herzog’s diplomacy skills.

Amid the growing concern in Israel over Russia’s move to close the organization’s offices in the country and the geopolitical implications that could pose, the Ynet news site reported that both sides were trying to reduce tensions.

Moscow reassured Jerusalem on Monday evening that the issue was solely legal and did indicate in any way a deterioration in relations between the countries, the report said.

In turn, Israel has reassured Russia’s Jewish community that the issue was being handled and that there was no reason for concern, Ynet said.

The apparent step back came after Lapid warned Sunday that the issue could negatively affect ties between the two countries.

In another sign that the sides were trying to turn down the heat, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed on Tuesday reports of Lapid and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanging greetings on July 5, without giving further details.

The exchange of notes was most likely a formality upon Lapid’s assumption of the post of prime minister last month.

Lapid’s political rivals have argued that Moscow’s actions against the Jewish Agency, a quasi-governmental organization that encourages and facilitates Jewish immigration to Israel, were because of his 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 startted 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,” Svetlova said.

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.

Last week, Russian authorities formally filed an appeal with a Moscow district court calling for the “dissolution” of the Jewish Agency’s offices in Russia. The first hearing is scheduled for this Thursday.

Seeming to aggravate the situation, Moscow has so far refused to issue visas to an Israeli legal delegation seeking to visit the country this week ahead of the hearing. The team was due to travel on Sunday, but as of Monday night had yet to receive the proper credentials.

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.