Lapid’s anti-Putin stance will impair his standing as leader at home and abroad

Interim PM Yair Lapid is in hot water with Russian President Vladimir Putin – to the point of jeopardizing Israel’s hitherto well-balanced ties with world powers tended by his predecessors. Lapid, less than a month as caretaker prime minister, is putting his own prospects at risk, just weeks before his Yesh Atid (Future) party fights a general election, by taking a step too far against Moscow to allow for quick repairs.

The acrimony turned serious last week, when a source at the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv leaked word to the media that the Kremlin was taking umbrage at some of Lapid’s most recent opinions and recalling the ambassador was under consideration. The next step was a lawsuit brought by the Russian Justice Ministry against the Jewish Agency, which is responsible for promoting Jewish immigration to Israel, applying for its “dissolution” over unspecified infractions. Unnamed sources in Moscow accused the organization of draining top Russian talents from the country. The case will be heard on 28 July.

On Monday, July 25, Lapid reacted with a warning to Moscow that shutting the offices of the quasi-government Jewish Agency in the country would be “a grave event” with “consequences on the diplomatic ties between Jerusalem and Moscow.” READ MORE