The diplomatic row between Israel and Russia spread on Monday as Chabad announced it would launch unprecedented legal proceedings against Russia to demand the return of the Hassidic group's historical library, which was illegally confiscated by the Russian authorities.
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Almost simultaneously with the legal action, the Russian police said it has arrested Jewish opposition politician Leonid Guzman for allegedly "failing to notify the authorities quickly enough of his Israeli citizenship." Although Guzman has already been released, tensions between the two countries could still intensify.
The latest developments occurred amid the backdrop of Moscow's threat to shut down the Jewish Agency in Russia, followed by Prime Minister Yair Lapid's stern response that such a measure could have "a serious impact" on diplomatic relations between Jerusalem and Moscow."
Israel Hayom reported on Monday that Lapid has even instructed the Foreign Ministry to prepare a series of political measures against Russia to be implemented in the event it liquidates the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency.
An official with the Moscow District Court was quoted late last week as saying that Russia's Justice Ministry aims to "shut down" the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency. A court hearing in the case has been scheduled for July 28.
The Jewish Agency is a nonprofit that works closely with the Israeli government to bring Jewish immigrants from around the world to Israel. It has been active in Russia since 1989, and has helped over 1 million immigrants from the former Soviet Union make aliyah over the years. It is estimated that 150,000 Jews still live in Russia.
The Association of Chabad Chassidim in the US, meanwhile, has appealed to Israel's Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara to freeze proceedings to transfer ownership of land in Jerusalem to Russia, specifically the Alexander Courtyard church compound in the Old City.
Chabad wants any land transfer to Russia to be conditioned on the return of the Schneerson library archives to the Hasidic Association which, according to Chabad, was illegally confiscated by Russia.
In a warning letter prior to taking legal action, attorney Uri Keidar, who represents the Association of Chabad Hassidim, explained that the Schneerson library archives are a historical collection that includes approximately 12,000 books and original writings preserved since the end of the 18th century.
Keidar described the library as a unique collection of its kind in the entire world and a heritage asset for the entire Jewish people, in a way that goes beyond the boundaries of Chabad.
For decades following World War I, the Schneerson library archive was in the hands of the Soviet regime and is currently in the hands of the government of Russia.
Over the course of those decades, Chabad has demanded that Moscow return the Schneerson library archives to the Chabad Hassidic Center in New York.
The last Rebbe of the movement, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, appointed a special delegation to return the books, who since have been working in different ways to achieve the goal.
Thus far, a series of court rulings have been issued in the United States against the Russian government, ordering it to return the Schneerson collection to Chabad, including the imposition of a significant fine for contempt of court in the US, which currently stands at approximately 170 million dollars.
Moscow has been demanding that Israel hand over control of the Alexander Courtyard church compound, which former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to give to the Russians as a goodwill gesture following the release of Na'ama Issachar from a Russian jail in 2020, but which the Jerusalem District Court blocked.
"The Schneerson collection has historical Jewish importance, and therefore it is only natural that the State of Israel will do everything in its power on the legal and practical level, to assist my client's worldwide efforts to return the Schneerson collection to its possession at the Chabad Hasidic headquarters in the US," Keidar stated in his letter.
"The global Chabad movement has requested that you [Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara ]and the Israeli government be informed ahead of time, that it intends to take legal action against the Russian government in Israel, including regarding Russian assets (or those that the Russian government wishes to register as their owners) in Israel," the letter said.
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