Russia, meanwhile, has been sending mixed messages, with the Kremlin calling the dispute a purely legal issue, while its foreign ministry accused Israel of long-standing “unconstructive” and “prejudiced” behavior towards Moscow. Speaking at a conference hosted by Israel’s Channel 13, Herzog, who headed the Jewish Agency in 2018-2021, said that while the issue was “close to his heart”, he thought it best to keep his public reporting to a minimum . “I am fully cooperating with Prime Minister Yair Lapid … I will help where I can,” said Herzog, who met with Lapid on Monday night. “Some things are better left unsaid,” the president said. Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms “I think the less we talk about it, the better off we’ll be. It will allow the issue to be dealt with appropriately,” he added. Herzog continued: “Russia is an important country. There could be many different scenarios and explanations as to why and how this happened… Let’s let it play out. The less we talk about it and the more we do it, the better.” Despite his largely ceremonial role, the current administration has repeatedly used Herzog’s diplomatic skills. Then-Jewish Service head Isaac Herzog helps a participant in a bar and bat mitzvah for deaf teenagers unwrap his tefillin at the Nitzanim Synagogue in Jerusalem on May 20, 2019. (Nachshon Philipson) The Kremlin said on Tuesday that a move to close the agency in Russia was a purely legal matter. “The situation should not be politicized or projected onto the whole of Russian-Israeli relations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “There are issues in terms of compliance with Russian law,” he added. “This situation needs to be handled very carefully.” Peskov did not provide further details. However, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Tuesday accused Israel of “unconstructive” behavior. “Unfortunately, we heard completely unconstructive and, above all, biased rhetoric in the statements made by Tel Aviv in recent months,” he told the Soloviev Live TV channel, according to TASS, singling out Israeli statements supporting Ukraine. “When we hear the country’s authorities say that some of Russia’s actions at the bilateral level may affect relations, we wonder if these same people believe that their actions and statements in recent months have not yet affected bilateral relations.” , he said. He was apparently referring to Lapid, who warned on Sunday that the issue could negatively affect ties between the two countries. But in another sign that the sides were trying to tone down the fire, the prime minister’s office on Tuesday confirmed reports that Lapid and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged greetings on July 5, without elaborating. The exchange of notes was likely a formality after Lapid took over as prime minister last month. Prime Minister Yair Lapid, left, leads a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, July 17, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, in Moscow, Russia, July 1, 2021. (Abir SULTAN / POOL / AFP; Alexei Nikolsky , Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Some argue that Moscow’s actions against the Jewish Agency, a quasi-governmental organization that encourages and facilitates Jewish immigration to Israel, was a response to its clear, consistent condemnations of Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine. In an interview with The Times of Israel on Monday, Moscow-born Israeli politician, journalist and analyst Ksenia Svetlova noted that Russia began threatening the Jewish Agency with sanctions around the same time Lapid became prime minister. “It didn’t happen down there [former prime minister Naftali] Bennett. It didn’t go down [former prime minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. There was something in this government,” said Svetlova. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 30, 2020. (MAXIM SEMETOV/POUL/Agence France-Presse Last month, Russian authorities told the Jewish Agency that its offices could face sanctions for alleged violations of local law. Agency officials initially believed this was a low-level issue that could be resolved through negotiation and compromise. However, as Moscow continued to escalate the situation, the Jewish Agency appealed to the Foreign Ministry to intervene on its behalf. Last week, Russian authorities formally filed a lawsuit in a Moscow district court seeking the “dissolution” of the Jewish Agency’s offices in Russia. The first hearing is scheduled for this Thursday. Appearing to make matters worse, Moscow has so far refused to grant visas to an Israeli legal delegation seeking to visit the country this week ahead of the hearing. The team was due to travel on Sunday, but as of Monday night had not yet received the proper credentials. Russia’s ultimate goals in its efforts to shut down the Jewish Agency are not entirely clear. Unlike in the past, Moscow has yet to clearly identify what step Israel could take that would prompt it to reverse course, or what specific Israeli actions prompted its antagonism. You are a devoted reader We are really glad that you read X Times of Israel articles last month. That’s why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. So now we have a request. Unlike other media, we have not set up a paywall. But because the journalism we do is expensive, we invite readers to whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community. 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