Halting another ‘brain drain’ Officials moved against Jewish Agency of Israel partly to protect Russia’s ‘economic prospects,’ says new BBC report

The Jewish Agency for Israel predates the existence of the modern state of Israel. Established in 1929, the organization focuses primarily on fostering the immigration of Jews in diaspora to the Land of Israel. The agency has had a presence in Russia since 1989, before the USSR’s collapse. Today, it operates branches in nine cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. But rising hostility to foreign entities and growing concerns about the loss of its highest-skilled laborers now threatens the Jewish Agency’s future in Russia. Meduza summarizes a new report by the BBC about the organization’s troubles in the country.

In June 2022, Russia’s Justice Ministry sent a letter to the Jewish Agency’s headquarters alleging a series of regulatory violations. A source told BBC Russia that the 20-page document advanced two main grievances: (1) the group mishandles Russians’ personal data, collecting this information and sending it abroad, and (2) the organization is responsible for aggravating Russia’s “brain drain” by helping some of its best-educated workers leave.

The ministry described this latter offense as “adversely affecting the economy and prospects of the Russian Federation.” Two sources familiar with the letter confirmed this second complaint to BBC Russia journalists.

Additionally, the Justice Ministry argued that the Jewish Agency’s decision to pay the fines imposed for these supposed infractions is itself an admission of guilt. Officials also claimed that the violations are ongoing.

According to the Jewish Agency’s own disclosures, the number of Jews relocating to Israel rose 30 percent in 2021. Russia accounted for the biggest share of this group: roughly 7,500 people (27 percent of the total).

Following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the number of repatriation applications filed by Jews living in Russia has spiked even higher. According to Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman, there are now 9,500 people waiting to submit their paperwork to the Jewish Agency in Moscow.

On July 28, a preliminary hearing gets underway in Moscow to review the Justice Ministry’s lawsuit demanding the dissolution of the Jewish Agency’s offices in Russia. Spokespeople for Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid say an Israeli delegation arrived in Russia’s capital late on July 27, planning to hold talks with Russian officials the next day.

According to recent reports by The Jerusalem Post, the Justice Ministry has also threatened to designate multiple Jewish organizations as “foreign agents” for operating in Russia while receiving funding from sources in Israel and the United States.

Relations between Russia and Israel have frayed since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Israel has condemned the Kremlin’s actions and expressed support for Kyiv but stopped short of joining the West’s sanctions regime against Russia. In May, after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that Adolf Hitler “had Jewish blood,” President Putin promptly telephoned then Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to apologize.