The Moscow Department of the Russian Ministry of Justice has asked a Moscow court to liquidate the Jewish agency for Israel, also known as Sokhnut, reports Russian news agency Interfax.
The department also asks for the organisation to be excluded from the Public Register of Legal Entities. The judge scheduled a meeting in regards to the case on 28 July.
The court clarified that the Justice Ministry had claimed that the Jewish agency for Israel was breaking Russian laws while conducting its work.
Jewish Internet outlet Walla reports that, last week, Israel's Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi met with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Mikhail Bogdanov and asked to explain what complaints Russian authorities had towards the Jewish agency.
Previously, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing a corresponding document, that the Russian government had asked the Jewish agency for Israel to stop its activity in Russia.
However, the agency representative then denied those claims in an interview with Russian news outlet RBC.
The Jewish agency for Israel (Sokhnut) was created in 1929. The organisation helps Jewish people from around the world repatriate to Israel and also conducts educational programmes. The agency’s branches are located in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, and other countries.
