Russia’s support of Israel is intricate and multifaceted. Many Russian-speaking immigrants residing in Israel have established a historically specific bond between Russia and Israel. Israel stands as a central Middle Eastern partner of Russia, but political relations have reached their lowest levels since the Gaza War when Moscow began supporting Hamas. For a long time, Moscow pretended to serve as an objective broker between Middle Eastern parties, yet recent tensions demonstrate a departure from this stance.
Russia faces limited regional influence because of its progressively close diplomatic ties with Iran and its supporters. During the year 2000, Russia started to build improved diplomatic relations with Israel. Throughout the 40 years post-1967 Arab-Israeli War, Israel held no formal relationships with the Soviet Union because this nation allied with Arab nations in that conflict.
Recent Israeli-Russian relations have experienced increased closeness since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started presenting himself as a close friend to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Historical background of Russia-Israel relations
Netanyahu even used huge pictures of himself shaking hands with the Russian president to start his 2019 election campaign. Following Russia’s military intervention in Syria in 2015, Netanyahu sought to establish a picture of himself as a leader equal to Putin, who is viewed as a leader of great power in Israel and, more importantly, a leader who was very friendly with him. Netanyahu wanted to demonstrate that his close relationship with Putin would guarantee Israel’s security. At that stage, Israel’s prime minister claimed to have convinced Russia to overlook its strikes against Iranian targets in Syria because of his claimed friendship with Putin.
The Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine did not lead Israel to adopt major changes in its Russia policy, unlike how other Western countries did. Israel declined to acknowledge Russian defensive actions in Ukraine through persistent Ukrainian appeals to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while blocking military support to Kyiv along with abstaining from economic sanctions on Russia. Due to its decision not to break relations with Russia, the Israeli government started conducting negotiations on uncontroversial cultural agreements and bilateral deals in the last half of 2023.
Interaction of Israel with Russia
Moscow’s worldwide isolation was lessened when Israel emerged as one of the few US allies prepared to interact with Russia on a diplomatic and economic level. Following Western sanctions, Russia discovered that Israel became its largest importer of Russian vodka while sanctioned Russians obtained entry to Europe through newly issued Israeli IDs, and Russian company Yandex intensified its Tel Aviv operations. Following its intervention in Syria in 2015, Moscow focused on establishing stronger ties with the whole Middle Eastern player community and maintained its special bond with Israel.
Moscow maintained diplomatic channels between Israel and its hostile parties, Hamas and Iran. Hezbollah and Syria remain allied through strategic interests based on their Iranian connection and their support of the Axis of Resistance despite occasional disagreements, including the 2018 incident of a Russian aircraft downing.
Russia achieved a high status as an essential Middle Eastern connection by conducting its diplomacy carefully, which ultimately brought it substantial prestige and recognition.
Russia’s support for Hamas: A turning point in Israeli relations
Moscow’s outspoken backing for Hamas after the worst attack in Israel’s history on October 7 is viewed as going too far, even if Israel has previously accepted Russia’s preexisting connections with Iran, its adversary and Hamas backer. Israeli security authorities now discuss Russia in the same sentence as Israel’s existential enemies, Iran and Hezbollah, after Hamas visited Moscow. Israel views Russia’s backing for Hamas as being similar to its allyship with Hamas, even though it is currently only symbolic and verbal.
With its envoy, Vasily Nebenzya, challenging Israel’s right to self-defense as an “occupier,” Russia is spearheading the UN’s condemnation of Israel’s military activities in Gaza. Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, responded by calling Russia “the last country” that could teach Israel morals and condemning Russia for using the Hamas attack “to divert the world’s attention from the invasion of Ukraine.”
Israel’s shift toward the West
At the same time, Israel is moving away from Russia and toward the United States and the West in general. Netanyahu has made an effort in recent years to show Israel as an autonomous entity and as a leader who can communicate with the leaders of China, India, Russia, and the United States at the same time. However, Israel’s belief that only the West can truly be counted on to defend it in times of need is being reinforced by the backing that US President Joe Biden and European leaders have given it since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
To keep this backing for what it anticipates to be a protracted military campaign in Gaza, Israel will want to steer clear of conflicts with the US and the West on the international scene. For instance, Israeli banks implemented limitations on Russian nationals’ accounts on November 16 under directives from the European Union.
Russia, for its part, continues to show no interest in arming Israel’s enemies with offensive weapons. Aside from concerns about Moscow’s ability to do so, Russia is wary of making such drastic changes since it knows it would be irreversible in its relationship with Israel. The continued normal operation of bilateral relations exists despite Russia-Israel relations degenerating rapidly and producing unexpected consequences in the near future. The Israeli government discontinued its protocol of notifying Moscow about Syrian airstrike operations, which increased the danger of accidental hostilities between both nations.
Numerous geopolitical topics influence the intricate nature of Russia’s diplomatic ties with Israel.
Russia has a strategic relationship with Israel that benefits both nations, even though it does not provide Israel with unqualified backing. Russia’s connection with Hamas, its strategic presence in Syria, and its diplomatic position on Middle Eastern conflicts all influence this relationship.
