Israel's relations with Russia, as well as their military actions in Syria, condition Israel's response to the Ukrainian conflict

Israel's dilemma in the Ukrainian war

photo_camera KREMLIN/EVENGY BIYATOV via AP - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speak during their meeting in Sochi, Russia, Friday, Oct. 22, 2021.

A month ago Russia launched an attack on Ukraine by air, land and sea. 28 days later, more than 3.5 million Ukrainians, mostly women, children and the elderly, have fled the country. Those who have managed to leave have left behind cities completely destroyed by the incessant Russian bombardment and family members who must stay behind to defend the country. Men between the ages of 18 and 60 are forbidden to leave Ukraine, in accordance with martial law imposed shortly after the war began.

During the first 28 days of the invasion, Russia has launched more than 1,200 missiles, according to Pentagon figures. They have also used hypersonic weapons and launched strikes near Europe's largest nuclear power plant, Zaporiyia, stoking fears of a nuclear catastrophe similar to Chernobyl in 1986. Putin's war has, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, killed 977 civilians. However, the UN agency warns that the actual number is "considerably higher".  

All this has provoked a strong response from certain countries. The European Union, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Switzerland have imposed economic sanctions on members of the Russian elite.

By contrast, some countries that have condemned the Russian invasion at the UN have refrained from taking economic measures against the Moscow regime, such as the United Arab Emirates, where many Russian oligarchs have fled to escape Western sanctions. 

La Asamblea General de la ONU adoptó este 2 de marzo, por mayoría de 141/193, una resolución que exige a Rusia el cese de la guerra contra Ucrania PHOTO/ONU/LOEY FELIPE
Syria, a key point in Russian-Israeli ties  

Israel's role in this regard is noteworthy. The war in Ukraine has placed the Jewish state in a difficult position. On the one hand, Jerusalem needs to maintain its privileged relationship with Washington, Kiev's great ally, but it must also take care of its ties with Moscow.

Russian-Israeli ties are strongly conditioned by Syria, where both countries are engaged in military operations. Russia supports Bashar al-Assad's regime, while Israel fights against Iranian militias. The two nations maintain a delicate balance in Syria in pursuit of their own interests.  

Combinación de imágenes de archivo del presidente ruso Vladimir Putin y del primer ministro israelí Naftali Bennett  AFP/MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV Y JACK GUEZ

"Sometimes in Israel they don't talk about Russia, they talk about the 'northern neighbour' and, of course, the north is not peaceful. Israel has operated heavily in Syria in recent years against Iran and Iranian-backed militias, including Hezbollah," Brookings Institution Israeli foreign policy expert Natan Sachs told the BBC. "Russia allows Israel to conduct targeted military operations inside Syria to counter the Hezbollah threat," he adds.

For this reason, in order to prevent Russian and Israeli troops from clashing on Syrian territory, Jerusalem and Moscow have in recent years developed what Israeli media refer to as a "conflict resolution mechanism". For his part, Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid has referred to this as a 'cooperation mechanism'.  

Un niño envuelto en una bandera israelí asiste a una manifestación de apoyo a Ucrania tras la invasión rusa, antes de que el discurso del presidente ucraniano Volodymyr Zelenskiy fuera retransmitido a la Knesset, el parlamento israelí, y proyectado en la plaza Habima de Tel Aviv, Israel, el 20 de marzo de 2022 REUTERS/CORINNA KERNA

This partnership with Moscow is fundamental to Israel's interests, as well as to its national security. Jerusalem must therefore be very cautious when referring to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, for if it adopts a more forceful stance similar to that of the US, it could compromise this partnership with Russia and thus jeopardise its efforts to contain Iran's influence in the Middle East. 

Israel's delicate balance in the Russo-Ukrainian war 

This difficult situation facing Jerusalem since the war began on 24 February has been reflected in the statements and actions of the Israeli authorities. As reported by EFE days after the invasion began, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett asked his ministers not to speak openly about the situation in Ukraine, in an attempt to prevent possible tensions with Moscow.  

Una mujer reacciona mientras inspecciona sus pertenencias en las ruinas de su casa que fue golpeada en un ataque militar, en medio de la invasión rusa de Ucrania, en Kyiv, Ucrania 23 de marzo de 2022 REUTERS/SERHII NUZNENKO

Indeed, the Israeli leader himself avoided condemning the aggression and did not even name Russia shortly after the bombing of Ukraine began. Instead, Bennett addressed Israelis and Jews in Ukraine. "Every Jew knows that we are waiting for him here," he said, reminding them that "the door to the State of Israel is always open".

President Isaac Herzog, who was in Athens at the time for a meeting with his Greek counterpart, also did not directly condemn Moscow's aggression. "Like many around the world, I pray for the return of peace between Russia and Ukraine," he said. Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman took the same line.  

However, as one diplomat explained to The Times of Israel, Bennett's decision to avoid mentioning Russia was deliberate and coordinated with Lapid, who did use a more forceful tone to refer to the Russian invasion. "Bennett's softer speech was intended to complement Lapid's more bellicose tone," the diplomat said.

Israeli foreign minister called the Russian aggression "a grave violation of the international order", the harshest and most direct condemnation of Moscow from Jerusalem since the crisis in Eastern Europe began, according to the Israeli newspaper.  

Un manifestante sostiene un cartel con los colores nacionales ucranianos y en el que se lee en inglés "Israel apoya a Ucrania" durante una protesta contra la invasión rusa de Ucrania en Tel Aviv, el 20 de marzo de 2022 AFP/ JACK GUEZ

Lapid also acknowledged how the relationship with Moscow conditions Israel's response to the conflict in Ukraine. "Israel has been and will be on the right side of history," he said, while also justifying Jerusalem's aspirational stance of neutrality.

"Israel has a security border with Russia, the most important military power in Syria, and our cooperation mechanism helps in our determined battle against the Iranian entrenchment on our northern border," Lapid explained, according to EFE.  

AFP/ EMMANUEL DUNAND  -   El ministro de Asuntos Exteriores israelí, Yair Lapid

Trying to maintain this difficult balance, Israel abstained from voting in the UN Security Council session to condemn the Russian invasion, despite Washington's request that it do so. However, it did vote in favour of a non-binding resolution condemning Russia for the invasion in the General Assembly.

Israel, while wishing to maintain ties with Russia, must not neglect its relations with the US, "its most important ally" according to Lapid, and its Western partners. The Israeli government is therefore trying to mediate between Kiev and the Kremlin in order to find a solution to the conflict. To this end, Bennett has held phone calls with Putin and even travelled personally to Moscow. Israel has also provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine, although it has ruled out sending arms, a decision that other countries have taken. Israel has also not enacted economic sanctions against Russia; indeed, the famous oligarch close to Putin, Roman Abramovich, was spotted in Israel in early March.

Miembros del servicio militar de emergencia retiran el cuerpo de un militar ucraniano muerto en la zona de un instituto de investigación, parte de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Ucrania, tras un ataque, en el noroeste de Kiev, el 22 de marzo de 2022 AFP/ARIS MESSINIS

The Israeli leader has also engaged in dialogue with the Ukrainian side. In this regard, the Knesset has been one of the many parliaments approached by Speaker Volodimir Zelensky, who emphasised his Jewish background in order to gain stronger Israeli support. 

Zelensky calls for change from Israel but errs by alluding to the Holocaust 

In a speech to the Knesset marked by references to the Holocaust, Zelensky urged Jerusalem to support Kiev more forcefully in the war with Russia. The Ukrainian leader asked Israeli politicians why his country was not sending arms to Ukraine, as well as reproaching the lack of serious sanctions against Moscow.  

Manifestantes se reúnen en la plaza Habima, en el centro de la ciudad costera mediterránea de Israel, Tel Aviv, el 20 de marzo de 2022, para asistir a un discurso televisado por vídeo del presidente de Ucrania, Volodymyr Zelensky AFP/ JACK GUEZ

"I am sure that you share and feel our pain. Therefore, I cannot explain why at this stage we still have to urge countries all over the world to help us," Zelensky lamented. "Indifference kills, calculation of interests kills. You can navigate between interests, but you cannot navigate between good and evil," the president stressed, referring to Israel's plight vis-à-vis Russia.

Zelensky's emotional speech to the Israeli parliament, including quotations from Golda Meir, has not helped the Hebrew government to change its stance on the war. In fact, comparisons with the situation of Jews during the Second World War have not gone down well with a section of Israeli society. The Jerusalem Post's journalist Lava Harkov claims that if Zelensky had not made Holocaust comparisons and 'impractical demands', there might have been public pressure in Israel for the government to change its stance towards Ukraine. 

Even Bennett remarked that the Holocaust "should not be compared to anything". "It is a unique event in the history of nations, in the history of the world: the systematic destruction of a people in gas chambers," she added. On the other hand, several lawmakers and ministers pointed out that the Holocaust was "not a war" and that the comparisons were "outrageous". 

Israel prevents Ukraine from buying Pegasus spying system and Iron Dome for fear of Russia 

Despite Zelensky's pleas, Israel continues to refuse to send arms to Ukraine for fear of retaliation from Moscow. In fact, according to the Israeli news portal Ynet, Jerusalem has reportedly stopped a US attempt to transfer several batteries of the Iron Dome military defence system, one of Israel's most effective tools. 

Gráfico del sistema de defensa israelí Iron Dome AFP/AFP

According to the website's report, the defence system's capabilities, especially during the 2021 Gaza war, aroused Kiev's interest. As a result, members of the Ukrainian government began to persuade Washington to make it easier for them to obtain the system. However, the Iron Dome is a joint project between Israel and the United States, so it cannot be sold to one country without the approval of both.

Israeli officials thus made it clear to their US counterparts that they did not agree to the transfer of the Iron Dome batteries to Ukraine, 'fearing that it would harm their relations with Russia, especially in light of Moscow's influence over Syria'.

However, after the news broke, several analysts have questioned the role of the defence system in Ukraine. Tal Inbar, an expert at the Missile Defence Advocacy Alliance, told Israeli media outlet Haaretz that Iron Dome may not be effective in Ukraine

"The bigger the country, the more radars and interceptors are needed. Israel is a small country, in that sense it is an advantage for missile defence. That is not the case in Ukraine," he stresses. Inbar also pointed out that Russia uses ballistic and hypersonic missiles, so "they cannot be stopped by the Iron Dome system".

This is echoed by journalist Lava Harkov, who argues that "the rockets and UAVs that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad launch at Israel from Gaza are much more rudimentary than Russia's ballistic missiles and other projectiles". "Israel barely has enough Iron Dome batteries to cover its own territory, which is a fraction of the size of Ukraine," she adds in an article in Unherd magazine.  

REUTERS/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO - Una mujer cerca de un bloque de pisos, que fue destruido durante el conflicto entre Ucrania y Rusia en la sitiada ciudad portuaria del sur de Mariúpol, Ucrania 17 de marzo de 2022

Despite the opinion of experts and analysts, Ukraine continues to demand the system. "Give us the Iron Dome or just sell it to us. We need it to protect Ukrainian children from Russian missiles aimed at our cities. That would be the right thing to do," writes Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko on Twitter.

In the same way and for the same reason, Israel rejected a request to purchase NSO's Pegasus spying software from Ukraine, reports The New York Times. Kiev has been trying to obtain the system since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, but Jerusalem has prevented the sale through an embargo on sales.  

Gráfico sobre las capacidades del programa espía Pegasus desarrollado por la empresa de software israelí NSO Group AFP/AFP

This has also spread to other countries, such as Estonia. The Baltic republic also tried to get hold of Pegasus and was in fact in the process of buying it, but a senior Russian defence official contacted his Israeli counterparts and informed them that Estonia had used the spyware on its phone.

Israel therefore prevented Estonia from using the system. The New York Times reports that the Estonian government had made an initial payment of $30 million to gain access to the spyware. 

"One of our goals is to change the Israeli government's position from neutrality" 

In addition to foreign policy and military conjunctures, Israel also faces a challenge within the country itself. According to figures from The New York Times, approximately 1.2 million Russian speakers - 12% of the electorate - have come to Israel from the former Soviet Union in the last three decades, a third of them from Russia and almost as many from Ukraine. This makes Israel one of the nations with the largest Russian-speaking diasporas in the world.  

Personas sostienen pancartas mientras participan en una protesta contra la invasión rusa de Ucrania, frente a la embajada rusa en Tel Aviv, Israel, el sábado 5 de marzo de 2022 AP/ARIEL SCHALIT

Israel cannot therefore be oblivious to what is happening in Ukraine. The Hebrew government is facilitating the arrival of Ukrainian Jewish refugees in the country, while sending tons of humanitarian aid. However, the Ukrainian community is demanding a more forceful response from Bennett. "One of our goals is to change the Israeli government's position so that it stops being neutral and starts talking," Ana Zharova, founder of the Israeli Friends of Ukraine, told the BBC.  

But not everyone feels the same way. According to NPR, some Israeli citizens of Soviet origin support Putin's military operation, such as Shlomi Azran, who believes that there is still a lot of Nazism in Ukraine. Azran told the US media outlet that he respects Zelensky, but argues that his government could have done more to contain the extremists.

With the war in Ukraine, Israel faces both external and internal challenges. The balance and neutrality that Jerusalem aspires to is a difficult design that generates controversy and mistrust among its allies, even if they can come to understand Israel's motives. 

More in Politics