After a court in Moscow decided not to dismiss the Russian justice ministry's request to launch legal proceedings against the Jewish Agency, an Israeli diplomat told Israel Hayom on Thursday it was still too early to say if the ongoing row with the Kremlin was headed toward an escalation or a resolution.
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The trial's first hearing will commence on Aug. 19, with the implication being that the ongoing political tension between Israel and Russia is likely to continue for now, even if the Jewish Agency still continues to operate.
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.
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.
Members of an Israeli legal delegation, dispatched to Russia in an effort to resolve the dispute, will meet with local justice ministry officials on Monday. The belief in Israel is that the outcome of the meeting will make it clear whether the dispute is a legal or diplomatic issue.
The Israeli delegation will present possible technical solutions to the claims levied against the Jewish Agency in relation to illegally gathering information on Russian citizens. One of the main accusations is that the Jewish Agency keeps that information on servers in Israel, in contravention of Russian law, which prohibits the storage of information on Russian citizens outside of Russia.
If the Israelis' proposed solutions are accepted, the current dispute, in all likelihood, will come to an end. On the other hand, Russian rejection of Israel's suggestions will indicate that the legal matter is merely a cover for an intentional diplomatic crisis.
The Israeli delegation mostly comprises jurists from the Foreign Ministry and National Security Council.
Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata told Israel Hayom: "I welcome the messages from the Kremlin that the matter of the Jewish Agency's activities is not tied to any diplomatic dispute … Jewish immigration is not a diplomatic bargaining chip, and that's how it will remain."
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