Israeli officials are preparing for what could turn out to be a major upswing in Jews applying for immigration to Israel, in addition to a flood of Israeli citizens who are living in Russia and who may decide to leave.
Israeli officials are closely watching what appeared to be an attempted coup in Russia by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group mercenary organization, who vowed early Saturday to topple Russia’s military leadership in Moscow.
Prigozhin said Saturday night, however, that he had ordered his forces to stand down.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to hold a situational assessment Saturday evening on the attempted rebellion.
Israel’s foreign ministry held a situational assessment a few hours earlier, led by director-general Ronan Levy with Israeli missions in Russia, Israel’s defense ministry and the Shin Bet. For the time being, it was decided not to evacuate diplomats or their family members from Russia.
The ministry estimated that there are currently some 60 to 70,000 Israeli citizens in Russia, in addition to more than half a million Jews eligible to immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said he spoke with Israel’s ambassador in Moscow, Alex Ben-Zvi on Saturday evening in light of the day’s events, and said consular teams in Russia are being reinforced in preparation for the possible influx of citizens requiring assistance and other Jews who may decide to leave.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is closely following the events in Moscow and the developments of the last day and we are preparing for any scenario,” Cohen said. “We anticipate that many Israelis in Russia will need consular services, so we will increase the consular staff in Moscow and St. Petersburg,” the minister said.
The ministry issued a separate travel advisory, urging Israeli citizens to “reconsider the necessity of their arrival in Russia at this time.”
Israeli citizens staying in the country were also advised to consider the necessity of their stay, and in any case were urged to “avoid getting close to hot spots.”
Israelis in the country were advised to “keep up to date with developments through the media, the social networks of the Israeli embassies in Russia and the website of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
