Senior Israeli officials including Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel and
representatives of the Foreign Ministry and several municipalities attended a reception Sunday in Jerusalem organized by the Russian Embassy, listening as Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov delivered a harsh anti-Western speech.
The reception at Jerusalem's Sergei Courtyard celebrated Russia Day, the national holiday of the Russian Federation. The Foreign Ministry was represented by the head of its Euro-Asia and Western Balkans Division, Simona Halperin, who was recently nominated Israel’s new ambassador to Russia, and two other officials.
After his speech, Viktorov cut the ribbon for a documentary photo exhibition, put together by the Russia state news agency TASS, dedicated to the history of bilateral relations since the founding of the state of Israel 75 years go. Tweets by the Russian Embassy show Gamliel at the reception alongside Viktorov and the ambassador holding a glass of champagne.
Ynet quoted Viktorov as saying at the reception, "Today, the Western countries are waging a long-planned total hybrid war against Russia, including in information, economy, psychology and culture, and using the most primitive and worst methods to affect Russia's good name." He went on, "Russia will oppose the attempts of representatives of the Kyiv regime and their Western patrons to evade responsibility and mislead the international community and to cover up the monstrous crimes of Ukrainian groups against the civilian population of Ukraine and Russia."
According to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Israeli embassies are under no instructions not to invite Russian representatives and Israeli ministers have not been instructed to avoid Russian events. On May 31, Russian Ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov participated in the Israel Independence Day reception organized by the Israeli Embassy in Paris.
Bilateral relations with Russia are vital to Israel’s national security, so Israel has denied requests to supply Kyiv with arms. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Israel has been careful not to provoke the country, which has a strong military presence in Syria. For the last few years, The Israeli and Russian armies have maintained a communication channel that enables Israeli jets to fly over Syrian skies without risk of targeting by Russian aerial defense. Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and plays a role in the nuclear talks with Iran, and a large Jewish community resides in Russia.