Filenews 29 July 2022
By Zev Chafets
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid has decided to show Moscow that it will not become a piece of cake in the hands of Vladimir Putin. It is a strategy that, despite its strong moral weight, could damage Israel's long-term security interests, while also freeing the hands of Lapid's political opponent, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lapid has been in a state of crisis since Russia declared last week that it would dismantle the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency, a quasi-governmental Israeli organization that represents Israeli interests abroad. "This is a serious development that could negatively affect the diplomatic ties between Jerusalem and Moscow," Lapid warned the Russian government.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, when Israel did not maintain diplomatic representation in Russia, the Jewish Agency played an important role in accelerating the mass immigration of Jews to Israel. But today Israel maintains an embassy in Moscow, whose diplomats can issue visas, and there are daily flights between Tel Aviv and Moscow. The role of the organization in Russia is largely symbolic, acting mainly as a point of "landing" for unemployed politicians and bureaucrats.
Message
However, its closure sends a message to the Government of Israel and its current leader. This week, the spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, explained this message in an interview with Russian television. "Unfortunately," he said, "in recent months we have heard, at the level of statements, unconstructive and, above all, biased rhetoric from Tel Aviv."
It was mainly referring to a specific statement. In early April, in the wake of a television report on the massacre of Ukrainian civilians by Russian troops in a suburb of Kiev, Lapid - then Israel's foreign minister - loudly expressed a resounding denunciation of 'Russian barbarism' and the commission of war crimes.
This indictment was sincere, from the heart and a sign of character. It was also naïve and - potentially - politically destructive.
Israel is waging a protracted war in the skies over Syria, the aim of which is to prevent Iran from arming its proxy, Hezbollah of Lebanon. Putin controls these skies. The tacit alliance with the Russian president is an important part of Israel's national security doctrine. The first rule in such collaborations is that spitting on the person of one's partner is a bad practice and can have consequences.
Danger
Lapid apparently did not believe that this rule applied to him as well, especially since he simply told his truth. In this, however, he was wrong. Since he almost openly called Putin a war criminal, Israel has become the target of more or less constant strikes. In May, for the first time, a Russian anti-aircraft system fired shots at an Israeli aircraft over Syria. Israel kept the event a secret at the time and now states that it happened "once". But the timing was suspicious.
Not much later, Israel attacked the runway of Damascus airport as part of its anti-Iranian-anti-Hezbollah campaign. Russia condemned the blow and even spoke of the possibility of bringing Israel to account before the United Nations Security Council. This initiative was followed by Putin's trip to Iran, which received a lot of publicity. There he met with President Ebrahim Raisi, as well as with their Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
It would be unfair to blame Lapid for the rupture with Russia. Putin may be seeking to downplay the relationship with Jerusalem now that he and Iran have mutual oil interests. It is also possible that the closure of the Jewish Agency is related to the Russian suspicion that Israel is "chasing" many of Russia's best and brightest citizens to emigrate to the Jewish state.
Election
Putin may be planning to maintain coldness until November 1, when the new parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Israel. Putin is known for his habit of interfering in the internal political life of other states. Lapid has already told the world his opinion about Putin's Russia. It is, after all, too close to the administration of US President Joe Biden and the Western consensus for the tastes of the Russian president.
In contrast, Netanyahu, a former prime minister who hopes to regain his old post, is a reliable long-term partner. He and Putin share a perception of the world that is indistinguishable from sentimentality. Netanyahu would never let his moral qualms about Ukraine, if he has such ones, get in the way of what he considers Israel's national interests.
Opinion polls currently point to Netanyahu ahead, but perhaps not enough for him to be able to form a stable governing coalition. Putin would like to see him at the top again. Politically strapping Lapid in his first weeks in power is Putin's contribution to the election campaign, and "Bibi" Netanyahu knows how to use gifts.
On Tuesday night, Netanyahu told reporters that "the measured, balanced and responsible relationship" he had forged and maintained for years with Putin is now in a crisis that could endanger Israel's security.
As opportunistic as he is, Netanyahu is not wrong. Lapid's allegations against Russia reflect "a combination of amateurism, irresponsibility and arrogance," Bibi said. Translate it into Hebrew and you will have the main slogans of the right-wing Likud party for the upcoming elections.
Source: BloombergOpinion
