At least five major Israeli tech firms have joined the international onslaught of sanctions against Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
Among those that have begun to freeze or dial down their activities in Russia last week were Fiverr, Payoneer, Playtika, Tipalti and Wix, a web creator firm.
Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple, Samsung, VISA, Mastercard, American Express and McDonald’s were among at least 350 global firms that have suspended their operations in Russia or have pulled out altogether so far.
Last week on LinkedIn, Wix co-founder Avishai Abrahami said his company had stopped operating in Russia and “does not and will not sell anything in Russia and no commerce can take place,” although “the ability to create and publish free sites will remain available in Russia.”
Tipalti, a fin tech company that develops payments and compliance solutions, said in a statement it was “obligated to work with sanctions screening systems to identify financial crimes and check classification lists before every transfer of payments on the company’s platform. At this time, these systems do not enable the transfer of payments to Russia.”
Payoneer said it “won’t accept any new customers” and after fulfilling its obligations toward its existing users in Russia, “in line with service agreements, services will also be halted for them.”
The Playtika gaming firm said it is pulling its online games from the app stores in Russia “until further notice.” The company said it will also donate funds to the Red Cross Ukraine Appeal Fund.
Fiverr CEO and co-founder Micha Kaufman said in a post that the devastation in Ukraine “requires action” and that his firm will be “suspending its business in Russia.”
Hundreds of private and public companies worldwide have joined the boycott in addition to sanctions instituted by numerous Western governments, suspending their operations in the Russian Federation and in some cases pulling out of the country entirely.
The Israeli government so far is not among those which have imposed sanctions on Moscow, as Prime Minister Naftali Bennett works to maintain neutrality with the Kremlin as well as with Kiev.
Russia maintains a major military presence in Syria, across Israel’s northern border, and up to this point has not interfered with the Jewish State’s efforts to target Iranian military sites in the country being used to transfer advanced weaponry to Tehran’s Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah.
Nevertheless, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid came out squarely against Russia’s war on Ukraine during his visit on Sunday to Romania.
“Like Romania, Israel condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It’s without justification, and we call on Russia to stop its firing and attacks, and to resolve this conflict around the negotiating table,” Lapid told reporters following his meeting with Romania’s Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu.
“Israel will do all it can to help reach a peaceful solution. We are working in complete coordination with our ally, the United States, and with our European partners in order to try and end this violent tragedy as quickly as possible.”
In addition to his meetings with government officials in Bucharest, Lapid visited the Jewish Agency’s Aliyah Center in the capital, where he met with new immigrants who fled the war in Ukraine.
