Russia
Vladimir Kozlovsky was reportedly given over to the Russian Jewish community and will later go to Israel to join his wife in Tel Aviv.
The collection includes a miniature Hebrew bible printed in Warsaw in the late 19th century that was found by a Soviet Jewish officer during the liberation of a concentration camp in Poland in 1945.
Mickey Bergman works to free American prisoners and hostages held aboard. He’s now serving as a conduit between the White House and Kremlin to secure the release of American basketball star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.
Russian court delays verdict on shuttering Jewish Agency for 30 days
Israel argues that the Jewish Agency has been working within the bounds of Russian law ever since it officially began operating in the country.
Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt served as chief rabbi of Moscow for more than 30 years until the morning after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when he woke up to a frightening reality that reminded him of the “dark days of the Iron Curtain.”
“The truth is Israel’s government doesn’t know what will happen,” says an Israeli government source In the runup to August 19 hearing on the shuttering of the Agency in Russia.
An Israeli delegation of jurists is in Moscow for meetings with senior Russian Justice Ministry officials.
Russia-Israel tensions have intensified as Moscow appears primed to force the “dissolution” of the agency operations in the country.
“The Kremlin feels absolutely isolated, and is looking for points of weakness,” says the former Jewish Agency chairman.
Chabad is demanding the return of the Schneerson historical library archives, and has asked the Israeli government to freeze all proceedings to transfer the Alexander Court church compound in Jerusalem to Russia.
Even as Moscow threatens to force the “dissolution” of Jewish Agency operations, experts urge Jerusalem to resolve the issue through “secret diplomacy based on common interests.”
Ex-defense establishment official Lt. Col. (ret.) Orna Mizrahi says Moscow has been willing to ignore Israeli airstrikes, as they have boosted Russia in its competition for control with Iran in Syria.
