Prime Minister Yair Lapid convened a discussion this morning (Sunday) on the activities of the Jewish Agency in Russia, after the Russian Ministry of Justice last week demanded that the Moscow court stop the agency's activities throughout the country.
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The discussion was attended by Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Minister of Immigration and Absorption Pnina Tamano Sheta, Housing Minister Ze'ev Elkin, Tourism Minister Yoel Razbozov, and representatives of the National Security Council and the Agency.
Tomorrow, an extensive delegation of lawyers will fly to Moscow to legally confront the move by the Russian Ministry of Justice and the accusations leveled against the agency for using and trading in information.
Prime Minister Lapid said in the debate: "Relations with Russia are important to Israel, the Jewish community in Russia is large and important and comes up in every political dialogue with the administration in Moscow." He sent a threat to Putin: "Closing the agency's offices will be a serious event that will have repercussions on relations.".
The Prime Minister instructed the legal delegation to be ready to depart for Moscow as soon as Russian approval for the talks is received and to make every effort to exhaust the legal dialogue, while at the same time continuing to promote a senior political dialogue on the issue.
It was also agreed that the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to raise the issue with all parties.
Minister of Immigration and Absorption Tamano Sheta: "Jewish immigration to Israel is a basic right that exists for every Jew in the world. The Jewish Agency's activities take place throughout Europe and other continents, including in Russia, in full coordination with local authorities. There is no justifiable reason for stopping the agency's activities, and therefore diplomatic efforts are underway to clarify the issue and regulate the activities in coordination. As we have known how to work in cooperation with the authorities in Russia for many decades, I have no doubt that appropriate solutions will be found.".
The Jewish Agency in Russia employs 200 people who are responsible for 600,000 Jews entitled to the Right of Return. The agency estimates that of all those entitled to the Law of Return, an estimated 15,000 Jews are expected to immigrate annually.
According to a report Thursday in RIA, a Moscow court has accepted a lawsuit filed by the Main Department of the Ministry of Justice to dissolve the Jewish Agency's branch in Russia. The hearing is set for July 28.
According to the head of the Congress of Russian Jews, Yuri Kanner, "the demand to close the agency is an unfriendly step towards Israel, and may hasten the departure of Jews from Russia.".
The Russian claim is that the agency violates the country's privacy law, since it collects information on Jews and those eligible for the Law of Return who wish to immigrate to Israel, including information about their occupations.
