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Why Putin Meets Bennett

2 years ago babelfish

Why Putin Meets Bennett

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was in Moscow to mediate between Putin and Zelensky. The article by Andrea Mainardi

It is Naftali Bennett that Putin has agreed to see in Moscow. Not the Frenchman Emmanuel Macron , not the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz , nor the prime ministers of other countries.

According to international news agencies, Bennett 's trip was coordinated with Washington, Berlin and Paris. And it was also done with the awareness of the Ukrainians, whose president Volodymyr Zelensky (Jewish) had criticized Bennett and the Israeli government for not taking a more forceful stance against Putin. A position harshly judged by the Israeli media themselves, as "shamefully cowardly towards Vladimir Putin, with weak and opaque condemnations".

The Jerusalem Post recalls : “There is widespread skepticism about travel. The White House has given the blessing to Bennett, but believes the chances of success are slim ”.

However, it appears that Jerusalem's measured approach has at least planted seeds. Three hours of conversation with Putin in the Kremlin. Then a meeting with Scholz in Berlin. And phone Macron and Ukrainian President Zelensky .

Fruits? In fact, there is little at the moment. According to Ynet , quoting the Ukrainian president's spokesperson, it is not yet clear what the Bennett-Putin meeting achieved. According to the website, Sergey Nikiforov says that in Bennett's phone call with Zelensky – after the former's meeting with Putin in Moscow – the Ukrainian leader heard nothing particularly new. "We cannot evaluate the results of Prime Minister Bennett's mediation until we have a clear indication from Bennett or Putin about an agreement for a meeting [with Zelensky, ed.]," He says. Late in the evening Zelensky limited himself to a dry tweet: “The Prime Minister of Israel called me after his meeting with Vladimir Putin. Let's continue the dialogue ”.

According to Ynet , the main issue raised in the Kremlin was the need for a ceasefire, and Putin asked the prime minister to refrain from transferring military aid to Ukrainians. Which he already avoids, as he sends medicines and food. Israel will shortly finish building a field hospital near Lviv, dedicated primarily to children. Jerusalem also welcomes refugees, but – the government in Israel accuse – with too many limits. At least until a few days ago.

But there were other issues on the table between the Israeli premier and the Russian president. Including Israel's concern for the safety of Jews and Israelis in the battle zones. Hot topic for Israel, given a strong Jewish presence in Ukraine. Just as there is a large Slavic community in Israel, including citizens of Russian origin.

However, there is widespread skepticism – or maybe it's just disenchantment – about the success of the trip. For days, Bennett has been trying to balance concern for Israel's interests in maintaining good relations with Russia over Moscow's control of the Syrian skies with humanitarian concerns for Ukrainians involved in the fighting. Only in the next few hours will we see if the mission will bear fruit.

Beyond the question of the effectiveness of the negotiations, Bennett urgently needs to send a signal, especially at home. The Jerusalem Post writes: “In the Russian-Ukrainian war, it seems that more than directly wanting this role of mediator, Israel has been pushed into it. It was pushed to do so by the West, which due to its sanctions has lost the ability to act as an intermediary with Putin; and it was pushed by public opinion, both national and international, bewildered by the fact that Israel – with its unique history – had not assumed a more decisive role in the crisis ”.

However, Bennett proposed himself as a mediator. And he did so on a Saturday – a holy day for the Jews -, flying first to Moscow and then to Berlin. The Israeli prime minister, who is a practicing Jew, was able to violate Shabbat because Judaism allows it when the goal is to preserve human life. His spokesperson recalled.

Bennett had sent a message in October after Zelensky had asked him. The Kremlin responded spades. Putin would have called the Ukrainian Jewish president a Nazi already during his meeting with Bennett last year. Putin now speaks every two to three of Nazis in Ukraine.

Zelensky raised the possibility of mediation again, right after the war began, and Bennett spoke to Putin last Sunday – and for the first time Putin said no. While high-ranking Israeli officials did not think Israel should take an active part in the mediation, the Israeli press writes, it appears that Bennett took Zelensky 's pleas to heart.

The premier went to Moscow with his building minister, Ze'ev Elkin. Elkin is of Ukrainian origin and speaks Russian. He has ten-year relations with Putin . He is considered the leading kremlinologist of the current Israeli government. He was born in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine – a city under the bombs also on Saturday 5th -, and has a brother who lives in Ukraine. The minister declined interviews about the war. But reports in several Israeli publications have reported his frustration with the way the government has handled it so far and demanded that much more be done to save the lives of many Jews in Ukraine. Estimates range from 50,000 to 200,000.

Negotiation could help save lives. And it would come in handy in Jerusalem. For example, if Israel can play a useful role in the negotiation, it may be in a stronger position to make certain requests for support from the United States, Germany and France regarding the Iranian nuclear deal that could end in recent days.

Yet: "Israel has failed the test of humanity – the center-left newspaper Haaretz attacked a few hours before the trip – It is being dragged to the right side of history, almost against its will".

Because? Indeed, since February 24, euphemistically lukewarm words and positions have accumulated. It is true that the government initially spoke out in support of Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Only later – following American pressure and public criticism within Israel – did Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Bennett decide on a division of labor. The first condemned Russia. The second no, limiting itself to humanitarian appeals and declarations of this tenor: "War is a terrible thing … Wars are easy to start and difficult to end".

This policy was evident when the United States asked its allies to co-sponsor a Security Council resolution condemning Russia. The US mission contacted dozens of countries, asking them to support the resolution. They could co-sponsor the resolution, even if they couldn't vote for it. Eighty-one countries responded to the U.S. appeal and signed, according to an official list obtained by The Times of Israel . Israel refused .

Israel later voted in the UN General Assembly to condemn Moscow, but the image of a country reluctant to side with the West had already been created. Even at the debate in the General Assembly, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan , passed away. He represented Israel as the Deputy Ambassador. It appeared to the world that Israel downgraded the messenger to mitigate the blow to Russia.

Later, CNN interviewed former US Defense Secretary William Cohen, who expressed his deep disappointment with Israel's stance. “Now it is a question of being with the Russians or with the United States and the West. They have to make a decision, ” Cohen said of Israel. For the former US secretary, only an intervention by countries that are friends of Russia such as China and, in fact, Israel could unblock the situation.

However, Bennett enjoys a unique status: he has open channels of communication with the presidents of Ukraine and Russia. He has spoken to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy , and to Putin twice since the war broke out.

And before the new meeting on Saturday 5, Bennet had already met the German Chancellor Scholz . They had talked without interpreters for over an hour. From what was leaked they had discussed the approach of the Iranian nuclear agreement in Vienna and of course Ukraine. Diplomatic sources estimate that Scholz used Bennett to convey messages to Putin , as the direct link between Scholz and Putin became very complicated after the German government announced the suspension of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Meanwhile, despite much speculation about the role of a pro-Russian Israel that would have offered parking to the private jets and yachts of the Russian oligarchs hit by the sanctions, yesterday airports and ports closed the possibility to billionaires.

And as in all the folds of this Russian invasion, here too there is a religious implication. The positions of the Jews between Russia and Ukraine cannot fail to be heard in Jerusalem. Especially in a state that has a practicing Jew as its premier. For days Ukrainian Jews have felt abandoned: "The Israeli government is not showing enough courage and commitment" . This is the people. Leaders sometimes seem to focus on something else.

The president of the Federation of Russian Jewish Communities, Alexander Boroda, for example, expressed concern that neo-Nazism was actively establishing itself in a country like Ukraine. In an interview with Interfax on the 5th, he said he was indignant at the manifestations of russophobia in Europe "during the Russian military operation in Ukraine".

Dani Dayan , president of Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center, finds cause for concern in some recent developments in Ukraine : “Both sides are trivializing and distorting the Holocaust. I am sorry that both sides are using their propaganda comparisons to the Holocaust which are completely inaccurate and completely inappropriate. " The Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in mid-February received a donation of tens of millions of dollars from the Russian-Israeli oligarch Roman Abramovich . Dayan signed a letter asking the United States not to sanction the Russian billionaire and major donor Abramovich.

An interesting speech was made by the chief rabbi of Russia, Berel Lazar , who on the 3rd – two days before Prime Minister Bennett 's mission – broke the silence , calling for an end to the war, and offered to mediate. This was after the Ukrainian rabbis had lashed out harshly against the invasion. The Kiev rabbi curses the waiting Russians during the invasion of Ukraine. Another rabbi compared Putin to Hitler, calling for his tanks to be destroyed.

Lazar has earned the nickname "Putin's rabbi" for years. His appeal on Wednesday looks like a major break from previous positions on Russian policies regarding Ukraine. In 2014, when Russia actually annexed the Crimean peninsula, Lazar denounced the Ukrainian rabbis who had opposed the move, telling them to keep quiet "about the activity of politicians". Is the wind changing?

Update .
Bennet also does not celebrate his mission in Moscow. Too early to predict the outcome of the trip. It confirms that Israel has a "moral duty" to mediate between Kiev and Moscow even if the chances are low. In a stream of tweets around noon on Sunday 6, immediately after the Sunday meeting of his government, he summarizes the contents of the attempt between Moscow and Berlin the previous day. He confirms that he traveled "with the blessing and encouragement of all players". Remember that there are also Israelis who need to go home and Jewish communities in need who need help. And reaffirms the commitment: “We will continue to help as requested”.

The premier says that even if there is only a small chance that his mediation efforts will be successful, it is Israel's "moral duty" to try. He quotes a Hebrew saying: "As long as the candle is lit, we must make every effort".

According to the Israeli press, Bennett and Zelensky spoke twice after the first meeting on Saturday with Putin . Adding it to another pre-meeting contact, they have three talks between Israel and Ukraine in 24 hours.

The Israeli premier then dedicates two tweets to the Iranian nuclear talks in Vienna. The match is not immediately about Ukraine. But it is of great interest to Jerusalem and Moscow. Inevitable that in three hours of meeting Bennett and Putin discussed it. Via tweet it sends signals. He cites the recent visit to Tehran by the IAEA director general, Rafael Grossi : the relaunch of the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers "will not be possible without first solving Tehran's problems with the Agency international for atomic energy ". The suspicion of the UN watchdogs is of a nuclear weapons work by Tehran. At this point, the signature probably due in the week will probably be postponed to June. However, Bennett warns: “Our position on the deal is well known: the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. In any case, the agreement does not bind the State of Israel in any way ”.

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/naftali-bennett-putin-mediazione/ on Sun, 06 Mar 2022 07:34:29 +0000.