Former Israeli ambassador to Russia Arkady Mil-Man: Root of Israel-Russia crisis predates Ukraine war

Ben Caspit speaks this week to Arkady Mil-Man, the head of the Russia program at the Israel National Institute for Security Studies and previously Israel's ambassador to Russia and Azerbaijan. Over the past three weeks, tensions have increased between Moscow and Jerusalem. The reason for the diplomatic crisis is the decision by Russian authorities to stop the activities of the Jewish Agency, tasked with assisting Jews who want to emigrate to Israel. "The crisis over the Jewish Agency today is mostly the result of internal processes in Russia. For the last decade, the atmosphere in Russia became more and more hostile to foreigners, including locals who received support from outside Russia. Adding to this a rise in antisemitism and the war in Ukraine as strong catalyst to hostility towards the West, and we get the crisis we are now witnessing," argues Mil-Man.  

Links:

-Israel rushes to de-escalate diplomatic crisis with Russia - Al-Monitor

-Israel concerned Russia may create obstacles to Jewish emigration - Al-Monitor

-Russian-Israeli tensions escalate over Ukraine, Holocaust - Al-Monitor