In the light of the greatly polarised world stage after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel may be unable to maintain a neutral policy that is acceptable to Russia, which has extensive bilateral and regional interests with Israel, and Ukraine, which is supported by the US and EU.
In the weeks leading up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when the US and EU were escalating warnings that Russia intended to invade Ukraine, Israel remained quiet in order not to upset either side. However, despite its efforts, Tel Aviv has been forced to declare positions more supportive of Ukraine than Russia.
Israel has limited its response to statements by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and has not emphasised statements by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who has only referenced concerns about the humanitarian crisis resulting from the conflict.
Bennett has also offered humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The majority of the Israeli political parties have remained silent on the conflict.
Israel shares various interests with Russia, including economically through giant investments by both sides, militarily through close cooperation in the two countries’ arms industries, and logistically through Russia’s silence about repeated Israeli air strikes in Syria.
Israel claims its strikes on Syria have been intended to prevent Iran from gaining a foothold in the country and blocking greater influence by the Lebanese Shia group Hizbullah, which has transferred military capabilities from Syria to Lebanon to develop its military arsenal.
Russia’s position on the Israeli air raids on Syria is a cornerstone of the relations between Moscow and Tel Aviv. It has ignored condemnations of Israel’s repeated air strikes on Syria and has not provided the Syrian government, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, with effective anti-aircraft systems.
Israeli reports have gone further, saying that Moscow has been providing logistical support for Israeli air raids on Syria through a “disengagement” mechanism with Moscow that requires informing Russia of Israeli strikes against Syria ahead of time.
This shows that the two countries are coordinating to avoid any military confrontation, even by mistake, between Israeli and Russian planes.
Israel has tried to remain neutral in the conflict in Ukraine in order to avoid losing its critical support from Russia on the Syrian issue, which represents a serious security challenge for Israel.
With the start of the Russian military operations in Ukraine, Lapid condemned the attacks, prompting Moscow to immediately issue statements condemning Israel’s occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights, which the US recognises as part of Israeli territory.
Lapid criticised the Russian invasion of Ukraine, describing it as a serious violation of international law and adding that Israel was ready to send humanitarian aid. This position aligned Israel with the more forthright posture of its US ally and the EU, both of which have introduced extensive sanctions against Russia and are sending military assistance to Ukraine.
Israel’s mild tone in condemning Russia’s military operations in Ukraine has upset both Russia and the West in equal measure, however, causing Tel Aviv to adopt a more definite position.
Lapid then declared his country would vote for a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the UN General Assembly.
Putin rejected Israel’s offer of mediation in the Ukraine crisis, with Israel’s state-owned Kan TV channel saying Russia had rejected Israel’s offer to mediate, an idea Bennett had proposed during a call with Putin.
The latter has chosen mediation by Russia’s close ally Belarus, with talks taking place in the country on Monday.
Tel Aviv said that both Moscow and Washington understand the nature of the relationship between Israel and Russia, which is why the leadership of both countries are indulgent towards the Israeli position.
Despite the heated escalation between Russia and Ukraine’s allies, Israel’s ability to walk a fine line in its relationships with Moscow and Kyiv will be a serious test of policy.
In an attempt to maintain good relations with Russia, Israel leaked a statement by an unnamed official to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation revealing that Israel had ignored a request by Ukraine for military assistance.
Israel refused some months ago to provide Ukraine with the missile-intercept system called “Iron Dome” out of fears of angering Moscow.
Another challenge facing Tel Aviv is the possibility of Israel joining the camp imposing sanctions on Russia, especially since many Russian organisations operate in Israel. Jews of Russian origin make up an important constituency in Israel, and many of them retain strong economic and other ties to their motherland.
Lapid has warned Israeli cabinet members against helping the country’s minority of Russian origin out of fears of international sanctions or political damage. He said that many Russian Jews in Israel own companies and other assets in Israel, and while some of them are opponents of Putin, others are his close associates.
Israel wants the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to be over quickly without further escalation in order to avoid paying a high political price due its obligatory support for the US and EU against Russia.
Israel is also counting on Russia wanting to avoid adding to the list of its opponents and thus turning a blind eye to Israel’s position and minimising its reaction to avoid damaging relations with Israel.
A version of this article appears in print in the 3 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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