By Hadas Gold, CNN
Israeli officials are seeking to calm the diplomatic dispute that has erupted in recent weeks as Moscow has sought to dissolve the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency, an organization that is helping Jews immigrate to Israel.
The Jerusalem-based Jewish Agency for Israel encourages and assists Jews, either logistically and financially, who may one day wish to immigrate to Israel. Under Israel’s “Law of Return,” who is Jewish or may turn out to have at least one Jewish grandparent is eligible for Israeli citizenship.
Thousands of Ukrainian and Russian Jewish immigrants have settled in Israel since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, underscoring the special role the organization can play in times of war.
Russian media reported that the Russian government was accusing the company of alleged violations of local laws, adding similar ones to the collection of information on Russian citizens. On Thursday, a Russian court will hold a hearing on the Russian government’s request to dissolve the organization’s operations. in the country.
In its public statements, the jerusalem agency’s headquarters only showed that a hearing will be held on Thursday and that it will “not comment on the judicial process. “
Initially, the situation gave the impression that it was reaching a point of diplomatic crisis, and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid warned earlier this week that the attempt to dissolve the agency’s Russian branch “would be a serious event affecting relations” with Russia.
Under Lapid’s leadership and in coordination with Russian authorities, an Israeli delegation will depart for Moscow on Wednesday night and meet with the relevant parties in Russia, the Israeli government confirmed.
The Jerusalem Post reported in early July that the Jewish Agency had been investigated through Russian officials for 3 years. Russian officials officially called on the company to halt its Russian operations just weeks after Lapid succeeded Naftali Bennett as interim prime minister.
In his previous position as foreign minister, Lapid had been one of Israel’s most vocal leaders in his criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Tuesday on a Russian news screen that Israel has had a “pro-Ukrainian” and “biased” stance toward Ukraine in months.
But after days of heightened tension, a pair of statements by Lapid and Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov are seen as a way to reduce tension by focusing on the “legal” aspects.
“This scenario will have to be treated with wonderful caution,” Peskov said, according to Russian news agency TASS. “In fact, there are doubts in the Jewish Agency for Israel from the point of view of compliance with Russian law and this scenario cannot be politicized or projected onto the total of Russian-Israeli relations,” he added.
Shortly after Peskov’s comments, Lapid’s spokesman responded by saying, “If legal problems arise in relation to the vital activity of the Jewish Agency in Russia, Israel is, as always, in a position and prepared to have an interaction in the discussion while keeping up to date. “vital relations between countries. “
Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who led the Jewish Agency from 2018 to 2021, also gave the impression of lowering the dial on Tuesday, saying at a convention held via Israeli news channel 13: “The less we communicate about it and the more we do, the better. “
“Russia is a country. There may be many other scenarios and explanations of why and how this happened,” he added.
On Tuesday, Lapid’s unveiled an exchange of letters between Vladimir Putin and Israel’s new prime minister when the latter took over 4 weeks ago, in which the language is cordial.
In a letter sent through the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv, Putin congratulated Lapid on taking office, adding that “Russian-Israelis are historically friendly in nature. “
In response, Lapid said that between Russia and Israel they are “deeply rooted. “
Since the invasion, Israel has carried out a diplomatic balancing act with Moscow.
Although it has officially condemned the invasion and sent aid to Ukraine, Israel has yet to send weapons to Ukrainians and has been criticized for not being more forceful in its denunciation of Russia.
However, regionally, Israel needs to disappoint Russia as the Israeli Air Force seeks to hit targets in Syria. Israel has introduced many moves opposed to its neighbor in recent years, aimed primarily at disrupting Iran’s source of precision-guided missiles. Since Russia entered the Syrian war in 2015, Israel has needed Moscow’s tacit approval to carry out such attacks.
“We don’t know what’s going on” with Iran’s nuclear program, according to a U. N. watchdog.
The head of the U. N. nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, told CNN that the organization did not know if Iran was preparing a nuclear weapon.
Turkey expects Sweden to extradite Kurds in exchange for NATO approval
Turkey “continues to await the extradition or expulsion from Sweden of other persons related to the PKK, the PYD/YPG” and the ratification of Sweden and Finland’s BIDs to NATO would depend “on the type of action they take,” the Turkish presidency spokesman said. Said. Ibrahim Kalin told CNN on Monday.
Iran multiplies its oil revenues by six
Iran has increased its revenue from oil and condensate exports by 580 percent compared to the same period last year, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, citing Iranian Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi.
After Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul promising millions of tons of trapped Ukrainian grain, the problems now lie in the implementation of the agreement.
International correspondent Nic Robertson, who spoke with Ukraine’s infrastructure minister, tells CNN’s Becky Anderson what to expect next.
Watch here:
How much money can you make by betting on popular video games like Fortnite or Rocket League?How about $15 million?
That’s the prize pool featured in several tournaments this summer for qualified players at the Gamers8 Esports event in Saudi Arabia, with Fortnite loose on the menu this week.
But watching is everything: Tickets to the front row to see the world’s most productive players will set you back $50 on Riyadh Boulevard, a shopping, entertainment and food district called Saudi Times Square. Some of the most popular games in the world are presented, and the aforementioned Fortnite and Rocket League are added, but also Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege and the pubg mobile game.
This week’s Fortnite festival is one of the biggest of the event, with 44 groups of two battling for the $2 million prize. Huge sums of money are already being distributed in other tournaments, with individual players winning $25,000 for special rewards, while groups have won up to $1. 5 million for winning frantic virtual battles.
Video games are incredibly popular in Saudi Arabia, where 21. 1 million people played them in 2020, according to Intenta Digital, a gambling addiction research firm, and the industry generated more than a billion dollars in profits in the Gulf country in the same year.
By Eoin McSweeney
El-CNN-Wire™
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