Israel’s strategies have been significantly impacted by Russia’s rising status in the Middle East since 2015; in fact, Yair Lapid, the Israeli Prime Minister, claimed that “Israel shares a common border with Russia” in reference to Moscow’s extensive military engagement against the US-backed terrorists in Syria. After years of Russian non-interference, Lapid’s remark corroborates the Kremlin’s growing influence in the volatile Middle East.
Since the outbreak of the raging conflict in Ukraine, the officials of the Zionist regime have failed to adopt a coherent strategy consistent with Israel’s long-run interests. Initially, they were concerned about not turning Russia into an adversary since Moscow plays a crucial role in Syria, particularly in controlling the Syrian airspace, and Tel Aviv’s provocative actions could jeopardise the security of Israel’s northern borders.
As recently stating that Hitler had Jewish ancestry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov wanted to reveal Israel’s grotesque farce of being the victim of Nazi persecution by insinuating that the Ukrainian President, a former comedian, is himself a Jew, thus undermining Russia’s de-Nazification campaign in Ukraine.
“For a long time now, we’ve been hearing wise Jewish scholars say that the biggest anti-Semites are the Jews themselves,” Lavrov added.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s attempt to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv resulted in a political fiasco since the Zionist regime lacks leverage over Russia and cannot provide Ukraine with security guarantees.
After Lavrov’s caustic remarks, which were made in response to Israel’s vote against Moscow in the United Nations Human Rights Council (OHCHR), the incendiary rhetoric between Moscow and Tel Aviv rapidly descended into aggressive measures.
Due to the modus vivendi reached between Moscow and Tel Aviv, Israel has been allowed to carry out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria over the last five years. Therefore, by declining to support the Western sanctions vis-à-vis Russia, the Zionist regime sought to preserve its unwritten agreement with Russia.
However, as the Moscow-Tel Aviv relation deteriorated over the Ukrainian crisis, the retired Major General, the former chairman of the Israeli National Security Council, warned: “If the Russians decide to cut off the hotline, we must consider whether or not to continue our assaults in Syria.”
In fact, the faltering relations between the Israelis and Russians might have negative repercussions for Tel Aviv.
For instance, the Kremlin may decide to jam Israeli navigation signals for military transport or, even worse, for civilian transport.
Without an understanding with Putin, the Israeli Air Force cannot assault the Iranian-backed resistance forces that pass into Syria to supply weapons to Lebanon’s Hezbollah. In a similar vein, Putin has not yet given the go-ahead for S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to be used against Israeli jets. However, this scenario can be changed merely by Putin’s stroke of a pen.
Therefore, from the vantage point of Israeli security circles, the inability to continue airstrikes in Syria will lead to the catastrophic buildup of Iranian-made weapons along the Israeli borders, ensuring the inevitable victory of Hezbollah in any future confrontations with the Zionist Army. To put it in other words, Israel is hopeless and handicapped to alter or modify the evolving policies of the Russian bear in the Middle East.
Israel’s political mêlée with a major power like Russia comes at a high price that Tel Aviv cannot afford. Even prior to the outbreak of the crisis in Ukraine, shortly after Israel supported Ukraine for the first time, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, asserted in a speech to the UN Security Council that his country considers the Golan Heights to be part of Syrian territory and does not recognise Israel’s annexation of the Syrian occupied territories. The Russian dramatic revaluation of its foreign policy is one of the vivid examples of how the Zionists and their American allies cannot challenge Novorossiya, the “New Russia,” even in diplomatic avenues.
The Kremlin’s insistence on Russian sovereignty over the Alexander Courtyard church compound, also known as the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, in occupied Al-Quds [Jerusalem], is a contentious issue between Moscow and Tel Aviv following the Ukraine crisis.
The Jerusalem Post reported in mid-April 2022 that Putin sent a letter to Naftali Bennett, the then Israeli Prime Minister, reiterating Russia’s claims to administer the “Alexander compound.”
Benjamin Netanyahu promised Vladimir Putin in 2020 that he would transfer control of the Orthodox Church to the Russians in return for releasing US-Israeli citizen Naama Issachar, who was arrested at the Moscow airport on accusations of drug smuggling. Issachar was released, but the Zionists declined to fulfil their promise due to their inveterate habit of deceit.
Putin also has his cards to play against the perfidious Zionists. The Russian government ordered the Jewish Agency to cease all its activities throughout the country. According to analysts, this remarkable development signals an unparalleled worsening of ties between Russia and Israel. Moreover, the closure of the Jewish Agency office in a nation with a sizable Jewish community, such as Russia, would have a detrimental ramifications on the Jewish migration to occupied Palestine.
The activities of the Jewish Agency were banned in the former Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991. However, due to the relentless efforts of the Jewish Agency, the Zionist regime’s Jewish population approximately tripled [over one million] between 1989 and 2006, with many Jews relocating from the USSR.
Nonetheless, tens of thousands of Russian Jews can attest that they did not fare better in Israel, where they continually face financial and cultural prejudice. In a rare admission, the Jewish Agency revealed the predicament of convincing the younger Jewish generation in Russia to migrate to Israel. Exposing Tel Aviv’s precarious political conundrum, the Zionist President, Isaac Herzog, sought to de-escalate the tensions with the Kremlin, saying, “The less we talk about it [the closure of the Jewish Agency in Russia], the better. Some things are better left unsaid. “
Meanwhile, Israel’s internal security service [Shin Bet] officials have warned the Russians of possible meddling in the upcoming Israeli legislative election, which is scheduled for November 1, 2022. The Russian government, however, categorically denied the allegations.
Also, Netanyahu views Lapid’s antagonistic stance toward the Kremlin as a chance for his political career. Netanyahu, who takes pride in his close bond with Vladimir Putin, has accused Lapid of embroiling Israel’s “measured, balanced, and responsible” relationship with Russia and endangering Israel’s national security. Numerous analysts agree that Netanyahu might gain from Labid’s faux pas in the November elections.