Despite these differences, Russian-Israeli relations are remarkably friendly. Trade between them is growing. More importantly, there are strong cultural ties between the two countries that are also growing.
The complexity of the Russian-Israeli relationship was evident at the conference on "Russia, the Middle East and the Challenge of Radical Islam," that took place in Jerusalem on April 9. Most of the speakers were either from Russia or from Israel.
On the Israeli side, there was Natan Sharansky (the former Soviet dissident-turned Israeli politician), past and present high-level officials, and prominent academics. Former (and perhaps future) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the keynote luncheon speech.
On the Russian side was Putin's former Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, the current head of the North American Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, and several high-profile Russian academics. There were also three American scholars – including this writer.
In the first part of the day-long conference, the Israeli speakers focused on describing how threatening Iran has become even though it does not yet have nuclear weapons, and how even more threatening it will be to many nations (including Russia) if Tehran ever obtains them. The clear implication of this analysis is that Russia should cease cooperating with Iran in the nuclear and military spheres since this only helps Tehran to become more threatening.
The Russian speakers, by contrast, concentrated on criticizing American foreign policy – especially the Bush administration's hopes for admitting Russia's neighbors, Ukraine and Georgia, into NATO, and its plans to deploy a ballistic missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. (While Washington says that this deployment is meant to defend against a missile attack from Iran, Moscow insists that it is actually directed against Russia.) Regarding Iran, several of the Russian speakers argued that while certain aspects of its behavior were indeed disturbing, it was necessary to engage Iran in order to change its behavior. Isolating Tehran, as they described Washington as attempting to do, would only encourage continued Iranian defiance.
Not surprisingly, the Russians and the Israelis did not find common ground on this issue. In the afternoon, though, the tone of the conversation changed dramatically when they discussed the Russian-Israeli bilateral relationship. In addition to praising their growing trade ties and calling for them to increase, both sides noted how the presence of over 1 million Russian speaking Jews in Israel has positively affected Russian-Israeli relations.
Many of these Russian speakers came to Israel during the past two decades, after Soviet-era restrictions on Jewish emigration from the former Soviet Union were lifted. They left the former Soviet Union in part because of their unhappiness over how Jews were treated there. Yet once in Israel, they have become nostalgic for Russia, maintained contacts there, and preserved Russian culture in Israel (where they have established a large number of Russian media outlets).
Israel is also a choice destination for Russian tourists – which is not surprising since it is one of the few countries outside the former USSR where large numbers of people are both willing and able to speak Russian. (Many East Europeans can also speak Russian, but are often unwilling to do so – especially with Russians.) Further, the number of Russian tourists visiting Israel is only likely to grow since they can now travel there without obtaining a visa in advance.
The Israelis argued repeatedly that Russia and Israel are fighting the same enemy – radical Islam. Although nobody on the Russian side explicitly agreed with this formulation, one Russian scholar did acknowledge that there is a growing emotional attachment to Israel in Russia – which may well increase as more Russians come to visit.
I came away from the conference with a strong sense that Russia is not going to give up anything in its relations with Iran or Syria in order to please Israel. But I also came away with the sense that Russia will not give up anything in its growing relations with Israel to please Iran or Syria either.
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Mark N. Katz is a professor of government and politics at George Mason University.