Russian-Israeli
Alliance
(Signs of the Time - November 2004)
Because
of the common threat of terrorism, Russia and Israel have
been thrown together in a most unexpected alliance.
Russian experience
The September 3, 2004, terror attack on an elementary school in the Beslan
region of Russia has been compared to the September 11, 2001 attacks on
the World Trade Centers and Pentagon. As reported in the Sept. 11, 2004,
Economist: “The terrorists in Beslan deliberately went for the
most innocent and defenseless targets; they timed their attack, on the
first day of the school year, to catch the maximum number; they tortured
their small captives by refusing them all food and water; and when one
of the explosives they had rigged in the school gymnasium went off, apparently
by accident, they shot fleeing hostages in the back before blowing the
building apart. If this were war, such bestial, inhuman acts would richly
deserve the name of war crimes.”
The result of the terrorism is that Russians feel “war had been
declared on them.” Indeed, the slaughter of 500 in a small
town wrought carnage of proportions usually seen only in wartime. Even
wars are rarely this cruel. Even wars have rules one of which is to avoid
harming civilians where possible, and special care is taken to protect
children.
Shortly before the school terrorism, two Russian airliners were commandeered
and blown up. The air piracy killed 90 people and once again renewed fears
that terrorists can strike from anywhere and at any time. The air terrorism
brought to Russia renewed calls for air safety and longer lineups have
resulted for security clearance during airline boarding.
Agreement
In order to better combat the terrorists, Russia turned to Israel. The
purpose of the cooperation between the two nations was for Russia to learn
and understand how Israel has been dealing with a terrorist organization
at their doorpost for several decades. As reported by Reuters, September
7: “Russia and Israel agreed yesterday to co-operate in the
battle against international terrorism, as millions of Russians observed
a day of mourning and President Vladimir Putin faced mounting criticism
over the handling of the Beslan school shootout. Just days after the siege
ended in a bloodbath, Israel and Russia signed a memorandum pledging to
encourage ‘the development of broad bilateral, regional and multilateral
co-operation’ in fighting international terrorism, officials said
in Jerusalem, where Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived late
Sunday. ‘The terrorism that struck in Russia is exactly the same
kind of terrorism that strikes us,’ said Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon, who proposed expanded intelligence co-ordination in a telephone
call to Putin the night before.”
The agreement with Israel is somewhat vague with details to be worked
out at a later date. However, Lavrov indicated he is impressed with the
way Israeli intelligence has a long track record of monitoring Palestinian
militants both overseas and in areas occupied by the Jewish state in the
1967 war. In addition, Israel offered Russia a wide range of assistance,
from medical aid for children suffering post-traumatic stress disorder,
to sending medical teams to the area, to dispatching counter terrorism
advisers and upgrading intelligence cooperation.
Israel seeks Russian help in UN
It was during the visit that Israel pressed Russia for help. The Jerusalem
Post reported September 7: “In their 90-minute meeting in Jerusalem,
Israeli Foreign Minister Sylvan Shalom pointed out that in the last 21
UN votes relating to Israel, Russia voted against Israel 17 times and
abstained on four occasions. Shalom, at a joint press conference with
Lavrov after their meeting, said that Israel is looking toward the Russian
UN delegation ‘to oppose the ongoing Palestinian campaign against
Israel and to reject their anti-Israeli initiatives, designed to hurt
Israel and divert attention from their own obligations.’ It is clear
that the solutions to the Palestinian issue lie in Ramallah and Gaza,
not in New York or The Hague.”
Further, Shalom said he expected Russia not to support a Palestinian resolution
at the United Nations on the “fence” issue. The Palestinian-backed
resolution which calls for sanctions against Israel for the construction
of the barrier was to be voted on by the UN in October. (The vote was
postponed). Shalom noted to Russia that it had voted against Israel on
this issue when it was brought to the General Assembly in July and that
he desired to see Russia change course during future votes.
George Rayner