Russia is No Friend of Israel

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s robust support for Hamas after its October massacre of more than 1,400 Israelis has shattered long-standing illusions that Russia is a friend of Israel. Previously, relations between Moscow and Jerusalem were mostly cordial. Putin made three official visits to Israel; and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who used to call Putin his “dear friend,” visited Russia at least 11 times.

The bilateral relationship was solidified in 2015 when Putin sent troops to Syria to prevent President Bashar al-Assad from being overthrown in Syria’s civil war. During Russia and Israel’s neutrality entente, Netanyahu coordinated with Moscow Israel’s armed interventions against Iranian military encroachment on Syrian territory. The objective was to prevent Israeli forces from accidentally targeting Russian troops while stopping Iranian proxies from establishing military bases in southwest Syria within range of Israeli population centers.

Israeli-Russian relations weakened after February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, which has one of Europe’s largest Jewish communities. Israel remained neutral when Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 but supported a 2022 UN Resolution condemning Russia for its military aggression. Israel later began sharing with Ukraine intelligence about Russia’s use of Iranian suicide drones.

Putin initially was quiet following Hamas’s atrocities against Israel. But then he hosted Hamas and its Iranian overlords to stop “Zionist crimes supported by the United States and the West.” Hamas’s Abu Marzouk called Russia “our closest friend.” Israel denounced the meetings as “an act in support of terrorism.” Subsequently, hundreds of antisemitic rioters stormed a Russian airport in search of Israelis arriving from Tel Aviv. Israel called on Putin to protect Jews in Russia.

On November 2, Russia’s UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, said Israel has “no right to self-defense,” calling it an “occupying state.” The statement pointed to a clear shift in Russian foreign policy at Israel’s expense. Foreign policy analyst Rebekah Koffler said, “Russia has unequivocally sided with the terrorists, which marks a reversal of Moscow’s 20-plus years of largely pro-Israel policy.”

Since Hamas’s bloodbath, Israel has intensified strikes on Syrian territory to weaken the Iranian-affiliated groups operating there but no longer advises Russia about the attacks. Russian official Mikhail Bogdanov said, “We find out after they happen.”

The deterioration in Russia-Israel relations creates a possibility that Syria will emerge as a new front in the Israel-Hamas war. “Spillover into Syria is not just a risk; it has already begun,” Geir Pedersen, UN special envoy for Syria, recently told the Security Council. “Fuel is being added to a tinderbox that was already beginning to ignite.”

Writing for The Jerusalem Post, Israeli analyst Amotz Asa-El noted that Putin is not antisemitic and not motivated “by any emotion about the Jews.” Instead, he is “driven by his spectacular debacle in Ukraine, and his consequent hatred of the West in general, and the U.S. in particular.”

In an interview with Tablet magazine, British-Ukrainian analyst Taras Kuzio said, “Netanyahu is guilty of expecting Putin to remain loyal to his deal with him.” He added, “I have always thought that the official Israeli arguments for why Israel was not aiding Ukraine—that is to avoid angering Putin in Syria—were overplayed and I find it bizarre that Netanyahu did not view the emboldening of Iran by Russia as a potential security threat.” Kuzio concluded, “If Iran is to achieve its objective of a nuclear bomb, that would be because of Russian support.”

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