The court in Moscow ordered this morning (Friday) to postpone the closing date of the Jewish Agency in Russia for a month, in order for the parties to “complete the study of the materials”. The rejection stems from the agency’s request to “study the case materials and correct the offenses and errors in the agency’s conduct that were discovered during the legal review.”
The Jewish Agency is on its way out of Russia? “There is no intention to close”
Lawyer Andrey Grishaev, who represents the Jewish Agency, said that since the parties’ pre-trial conversation in court, the organization has taken “a series of measures to remove possible claims” against it. Grishaev asked the court to suspend the proceedings and establish a two-month mediation process. “We are sure that this will benefit the parties or even remove the lawsuits filed against us,” he said.
However, the representative of the Ministry of Justice objected to this, arguing that there was no reason for reconciliation. Therefore, the judge rejected this request, but postponed the hearing so that the defendant’s representatives could study the new documents submitted by the opponents. After the meeting, Grishev said: “I hope everything will be fine. However, everything does not depend only on us.”
According to the optimistic scenario, the judge will declare that the Russian Ministry of Justice has no basis for the claim that the Jewish Agency should be considered a foreign agent, and therefore the organization can continue to operate as usual in Russia. This is the least likely scenario, and the chance of it happening is slim. If it is realized, the agency will continue to operate in Russia, but its activities will be under a magnifying glass.
However, in the pessimistic scenario, the judge will declare that the Ministry of Justice is right in its claims and that the Jewish Agency should leave Russia. This scenario is not impossible, but legal experts in Russia explain that trials usually do not end this way, even if the accused is an enemy of the regime. In this situation, the agency could still appeal to a higher court.
In the background of the conversation that took place between Herzog and Putin and the talks behind the scenes, in Israel they were impressed that Putin’s office was very clear that this was not a political crisis. As you may recall, earlier this month, President Yitzhak Herzog spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to reverse the decision on the closing of the agency. In the conversation, Putin said that he is committed to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and standing by the Jewish community in Russia.