What Does Western Media Say About the “Jewish Agency” Crisis? In What Context Does This Crisis Emerge? What Meanings Does It Carry?

Part One: Media Monitoring

Talk about the “Jewish Agency” and stopping its activities in Russia started at the beginning of this month. Although the issue was not confirmed at the time, the Zionist entity’s newspapers, as well as Western and non-Western newspapers, dealt with the issue and put forth their interpretations, which were in line with their agendas in the framework of the military operation in Ukraine and, more importantly, in the context of the Western war against Russia and the emerging countries that have begun to change the international balance of power and cause shifts in the Western center. At that time, the Kassioun Research Unit published an article on the subject entitled “Russia and the ‘Jewish Agency’: further from Ukraine and closer to Moscow!” (in Arabic).

The “Agency” issue came back to the forefront a few days ago, specifically on Thursday. Since then, it has been covered extensively in “Israeli” and other newspapers. The entirety of the discussion centered on the same subject and linked the closure of the “Agency” to the military operation in Ukraine. All the newspapers directly or indirectly added the idea that what is happening is a Russian response to the “Israeli” position, and the victim is .. as usual… the Jews, and in this case the Russian Jews, as almost every source repeated the words of the Zionist entity’s Diaspora Affairs Minister as saying that “Russian Jews will not be held hostage by the war in Ukraine”.

The Entity’s Media

On July 21, “Maariv” newspaper posted the following breaking news: “Following closing the offices of the Jewish Agency: an inter-ministerial delegation will go to Russia next week”. The news added, “Prime Minister Yair Lapid recently held a situational assessment regarding the activities of Jewish Agency in Russia... and it was decided to send a joint delegation from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Absorption next week, to ensure the continued activity of the Jewish Agency in Russia”.

According to a July 21 article on a website affiliated with the “Yedioth Ahronoth” newspaper, “the (Jewish) Agency considered stopping the activity themselves at the beginning of the month, after the Russian government demanded to receive information about Jews who want to immigrate to Israel”, but “the agency refused out of fear for their safety”.

On July 23, “The Times of Israel” published an article in which it said that “The aggressive posturing by the Russian government is seen as highly unusual, coming in apparent retaliation for Israel’s stance on Moscow’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, as well as for Israel’s ongoing campaign against Iran in Syria, which Russia at times opposes”. According to the article, “Late last month, Russian authorities informed the Jewish Agency in a letter that they planned to take legal action against the group. The Jewish Agency initially sought to address this matter quietly and alone, but has since called in the Israeli Foreign Ministry to intervene on its behalf”.

In this context, according to the article, the Zionist entity’s Diaspora Affairs Minister said that “Russian Jews will not be held hostage by the war in Ukraine. The attempt to punish the Jewish Agency for Israel’s stance on the war is deplorable and offensive… The Jews of Russia cannot be detached from their historical and emotional connection to the State of Israel”. According to a source familiar with the matter, “Last week, the Foreign Ministry began officially intervening on behalf of the Jewish Agency, having Israeli Ambassador to Russia… speak with the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, about the issue… in the meeting, Bogdanov denied that the steps against the Jewish Agency were a form of diplomatic retaliation”. The article added, “The saga has evoked memories of the plight of Jews in the Soviet Union, who were barred for many years from immigrating to Israel and from openly practicing their faith”.

On July 22, “Bhol”, a website that describes itself as “The largest ultra-orthodox website in the world”, published an article that said on the closure of the “Agency” issue that “A senior official in the (Russian) Jewish community is actually satisfied (about the decision): ‘They are bringing gentiles to Israel’.” Another one in Russia claimed that: “Israel chooses to immigrate specifically to highly educated Jews”. Another one added that “the immigration to Israel drives the good minds and scientists away from here, the government is worried about this, so it makes it difficult for the agency”.

An article posted on “Kipa” website on July 21 about the matter that touched on nearly the same aforementioned ideas, added that the Diaspora Affairs Minister had said that “the attempt to punish the Jewish Agency due to Israel’s position regarding the war is pathetic and insulting. The Russian Jews will not be disconnected from the historical and emotional context for the State of Israel”.

According to an article published by “The Jerusalem Post” on July 23**, the newspaper “learned that the Jewish Agency secretly launched a plan to transfer its operations in Russia to Israel and operate the immigration process online. The decision follows the Russian Justice Ministry’s request on Thursday to close the agency’s activities in Russia”. According to the article, “What is understood is that there is no solution to the complex legal situation in Russia, and therefore there is a need to create a system that allows Jewish immigration applications remotely”.

However, according to “a source in the Agency, without the ability to promote immigration in Russia, immigration rates will drop significantly in the coming years”. The article referred to the “Israeli” government delegation that will go to Moscow later to follow up on this issue, made up of “legal advisors from different ministries… Although these legal experts do not have a full understanding of the Russian legal system, they – according to a government source – intend to show Moscow that the Israeli government is ‘serious’ about its intentions to resolve the issue”.

** (It should be noted that the article had been modified from its original version on July 24, where nearly all the text quoted here has been modified/deleted).

Last Thursday, the Zionist entity’s government had decided to form a delegation to go to Moscow when practical steps were taken to stop the work of the “Jewish Agency” in Russia. According to an article in “The Times of Israel” on July 23, “Lapid is expected to hold and additional meeting on Sunday before the delegation heads out”. According to the article, “Israeli officials fear Russia’s intention to shut down the Jewish Agency in the country could quickly develop into a major diplomatic incident”.

On July 23, news channel “I24” published an article on its website, in which it touch on the issue of Iran in relation to closing down the “Jewish Agency” in Russia. The article said that “Yesterday, Friday, Russian media claimed that the closure of the Jewish Agency in the country ‘constitutes another step taken by the Kremlin towards Iran’. It was also alleged that ‘Moscow’s previous gesture toward Tehran was the anti-Semitic attack by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who claimed that Adolf Hitler had Jewish roots, and Russian President Vladimir Putin chose Tehran’s friendship and thus he is distancing himself from Israel’.”

Western Media

According to an article published by British news website “Middle East Eye” on July 21, “The move against the Jewish Agency comes amid an ongoing diplomatic spat between the two countries over Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. Although Israel has not sent military aid to Ukraine, it has condemned Russia’s invasion of its neighbour”. The article added that “The Israeli foreign ministry initially refrained from involving itself in the issue, preferring to allow the agency to handle it independently”.

Also, according to an article published by “Reuters” from London on July 21, “The move against the Jerusalem-based agency, the largest Jewish non-profit organisation in the world, follows criticism by Israel of Russia’s war in Ukraine, where Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid accused it in April of carrying out war crimes”. According to the article, “Around 7,000 Jews emigrated from Russia to Israel last year, according to Israeli government data. Around 16,000 immigrants have arrived from Russia since the start of the war, a Jewish Agency spokesperson said”.

An article in American newspaper “The New York Times” on July 21 added, “The Russian government’s move amounted to a broadside against Jews in Russia and seemed to reverse President Vladimir V. Putin’s efforts over the years to build closer ties to Israel and to the Jewish community”. The article noted that “according to an official at the Jewish Agency, the (Russian Justice) ministry sent a letter about two weeks ago to the agency’s Moscow office accusing it of violating privacy laws by keeping the details of applicants for emigration to Israel in a database”. Additionally, “the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly during the legal proceedings, said that the letter included a gripe unrelated to the legal claims: that Israel has been taking some of the best minds out of Russia, which is home to hundreds of thousands of people of Jewish descent”. Additionally, “The Jewish Agency official said that Russian disgruntlement with Israel over a variety of other matters might also help explain the new Russian pressure. These include Israeli military activities in Syria and a dispute over church property in Jerusalem”. Like all articles mentioned here, this article linked the legal move against the Jewish Agency to the Zionist entity’s position on the military operation in Ukraine.

The article also added that “the president of the Russian Jewish Congress, Yuri Kanner, said that the Russian government’s move to liquidate the agency represented a blow to Russia’s Jewish community, even if a complete dismantling of its operations could still be averted. He predicted that the flow of Russians moving to Israel – as evidenced by a sharp rise in interest in learning Hebrew – would increase even further”. He added that “the government’s move against the high-profile Jewish Agency comes amid a rapid shift in Mr. Putin’s geopolitics and in the domestic political landscape – raising echoes of the Soviet era, when Jews suffered from being seen as having dual loyalties”. According to the article, “the war in Ukraine has left Mr. Putin groping for allies in his escalating conflict with the West, while feeding an expanding campaign against anyone inside Russia with suspect loyalties. Earlier this week, Mr. Putin visited Iran, Israel’s archenemy, and celebrated a rapidly tightening relationship in a meeting with the country’s supreme leader”.

Although the article focused on the Agency only, the issue of Jews in Russia, and the entity’s position on the military operation in Ukraine, it stated at the end, albeit within the context of the Ukraine issue, that the Russian government had taken similar measures and suspended the work of several organizations with Western links or those whose main headquarters are in a Western country.

British media outlet “BBC” also published an article on the matter on July 22, titled “Russia moves to shut Jewish Agency in Ukraine rift”. The article provided a whole lot of “information”, including that “Israel has not join the far-reaching international sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine” and that “in April Russia protested after then Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid… accused Russia of war crimes. Mr Lapid defended Israel’s vote to suspend Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council”. The “information” provided by the article certainly did not forget to mention that “Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler ‘had Jewish blood’. Russia falsely portrays the Ukraine’s government as ‘Nazi’, yet President Volodymyr Zelensky is ethnically Jewish”. According to the article, “Tens of thousands of Russians have gone abroad since the 24 February invasion of Ukraine, including many young professionals... and there is speculation that the war and sanctions against Russia are fueling a brain drain damaging to Russia’s future”.

Part Two: An Analytical Approach

Before moving on to listing some conclusions about the developments in the issue, it is useful to recall the conclusions reached by the Kassioun Research Unit’s previous article on the subject, which are as follows:

First: No country can deal with “Israel” except as an organic part of the entire Western project, and implicitly as part of the international system that is now being overthrown. That is, the various interpretations and analyses that deal with “Israel” as a natural state, or as a “state in itself” that can move between international axes, or balance them, is more like a bedtime story. This “state” exists as a Western project and as an extension of a Western project, to the extent that it cannot continue to exist in the event that that project diminishes. Therefore, the way Russia deals with this “state” cannot happen outside this diagnosis. This is regardless of the diplomatic and media level through which the issue is addressed.

Second: In addition to “Israel” being an extension of the Western project, what is more important is that it is an extension of the Anglo-Saxon project and the Zionist financial bloc within it. Namely, the project against which the Russian war is being waged today, because this bloc and this project are primarily threatened by the Russian-Chinese action to strike the dollar and its global system. In this sense, any talk about “Israeli neutrality”, or about attempts to balance or partial bias towards Ukraine, is just a distortion of reality.

Third: What should not be forgotten even for one moment is that the “Jewish Agency” is the parent company, and “Israel” is one of its branches, not the other way around. The confrontation with the Jewish Agency, although it implies a confrontation with “Israel”, but in essence it is immeasurably greater than that. It is a confrontation with the “Israel’s” boss, that is, global Zionism, as part of the comprehensive confrontation with the Anglo-Saxon dollar system.

Fourth: In the same context, the dangerous Zionist role in dismantling and destroying the Soviet Union is no secret, and even in working against it since 1917 and even before that. Among what has become known about this role historically, is not only the main contribution to sabotaging and dismantling the Soviet Union, but also in working to sabotage the international communist movement, as well as working within our region through the subversive “Israeli project”. Although all that is “history”, it continues until now, and it is not hidden that within it, Zionism has a significant influence in modern Russia. One of its most important manifestations is a large portion of the Jewish oligarchs who have their hands on important resources in Russia, and even on some of the most important media outlets in Russia. That is, they represent a large network of “agents of influence” in Russia.

Clearly, the West is unable to restrain, strike, and end Russia from the outside, whether by military, economic, media, diplomatic, or other means. Therefore, the only means it can resort to is to dismantle it from within. This has become blatant in the statements and analyses of many Western media outlets. This is where the role of Zionism comes in, represented by the Jewish Agency, which today has the task of spearheading the process of dismantling Russia from within, using primarily economic and cultural media means. Because this is clear, and because Russia cannot be bitten from the same hole twice, the process of striking this oligarchy has already begun, and the process will be inevitably intensified and deepened until its complete eradication.+

What’s New?

If the news that emerged about the Russians suspending the work of the “Jewish Agency” in Russia a few weeks ago, was widely treated with a degree of skepticism and uncertainty, the news of recent days has confirmed that escalation is continuing, and the issue is serious and moving in one direction.

In addition, between the two waves of news about the Agency, a lot has happened. There are at least the summits of Jeddah and Tehran between the two waves, and they bear a great influence on the meanings and implications of the second wave. The general framework for reading the issue can be summarized as follows:

First: It is no longer a secret to anyone that the US has miserably failed in all the tasks on its agenda for the Jeddah summit. Regarding the issue of raising oil production has not been approved (the Saudis have officially stated before and after the visit, that any change in the volume of oil production will only take place through OPEC +, that is, only through coordination and agreement with Russia). Same is true with the attempt to reach broad normalization between Saudi Arabia and the Zionist entity, of which only the minimum was achieved, which Saudi Arabia later denied was normalization, but rather a mere deal through which it obtained full sovereignty over Tiran and Sanafir and an American decision to withdraw forces from the two islands.

Regarding the “Arab NATO”, or the military-informational alliance/cooperation between Arab countries and the Zionist entity to confront Iran, any possibility of this happening, or the possibility of it happening in the future was denied. Furthermore, the Saudis and Iranians announced yesterday that reasonable steps have moved forward in the negotiations between the two sides to restore diplomatic relations and settle their crises, and they will move to a new stage, in which things will take a more public form, possibly directly, and not only through the Iraqi mediator. In addition, what may have been considered one of the goals of Biden’s visit to the region, which is to repair the rift in the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia, has also not only failed, but various indicators, including the official media exchange that followed the visit, indicate that that rift has become even deeper. (In this context, one could look at the statements of al-Jubeir and Faisal Bin Farhan, and the statements of US officials, including those related to the Khashoggi case).

Second: In the Tehran summit and around it, a higher level of consensus emerged among the Astana trio, and implicitly between Moscow and Tehran through the signing of a number of diverse and comprehensive agreements in many fields, amounting to $40B, which was received by the Zionist press with wailing and screaming. Not to mention repeated condemnation by the summit’s final communiqué of the Zionists’ attacks on Syria. Perhaps the most obvious was the new Russian talk about the work of the summit on “defining joint steps towards achieving the goals of reaching a final and lasting settlement in Syria”. This indicates getting closer to the actual solution in Syria, and not a temporary solution or a freezing of the conflict, but a “final and permanent settlement”. This also means a lot for the Zionist entity, which is trying to involve itself in everything, especially with regard to where the Syrian solution is going.

It has become clear that one of the outcomes of the summit was that the “Turkish military operation” has been grounded and postponed indefinitely, and perhaps permanently. This is the operation that was being relied upon by the Americans and “Israelis” to create commotion within the ranks of the Astana Trio, and to complicate the Syrian situation further. In parallel, it is not possible to understand the totality of crimes committed against civilians in particular during the few days following the summit, in northern Iraq, Idlib, northeastern Syria, and al-Suqaylabiyah, except as part of the attempts to undermine the tripartite agreement. This is regardless of who directly committed those crimes, which cannot completely exclude being planned by the West and possibly Britain in particular, and carried out by war lords and extremists from the various sides in the region.

Third: It has become public that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt are preparing to join the BRICS alliance over the next few years.

In general, what is happening is that there is an accelerated rapprochement among yesterday’s opponents (Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt), that is, among all the main countries in the region, in isolation from the Zionist entity, under direct Russian sponsorship, and indirectly Chinese.

All of this, provides a clearer explanation of the nature of the ongoing escalation with regard to the “Jewish Agency”, and places it in its true context as part of the comprehensive global battle against Western hegemony, and against the global financial and political system governed by the West and the dollar, which is now in the process of being demolished.

(النسخة العربية)