Israel will send a delegation to Moscow “to ensure the continuation” of the Jewish Agency’s activity in Russia, the prime minister’s office announced on Thursday.
Moscow’s Basmanny District Court said earlier that it had received a request from the Justice Ministry to liquidate the Russian branch of the agency. The potential closure of the organization, which promotes the repatriation of Jews to Israel, prompted Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid to conduct “a situation assessment” with diplomats and members of the National Security Council.
“It was decided to send a joint delegation from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration to ensure the continuation of the Jewish Agency’s activity in Russia,” the office said in a statement.
An additional inter-agency meeting will take place on Sunday.
“The Jewish community in Russia is deeply connected with Israel. Its importance arises in every diplomatic discussion with the Russian leadership. We will continue to act through diplomatic channels so that the Jewish Agency’s important activity will not cease,” Lapid said.
The Moscow court said that the pretrial hearing was set for July 28. It didn’t reveal the details of the Justice Ministry’s arguments, saying merely that the request to terminate the Jewish Agency’s operations was related to its alleged violation of Russian law.