The Kremlin’s ties with terror groups casts shadow its neutral relationship with Israel

Israel has tried to maintain neutrality in major geopolitical affairs, especially regarding Russia. The famous narrative portraying Putin as a dictator but not an antisemite has been well circulated, exemplified by Netanyahu’s “Another League” posters depicting a handshake with Putin. Russia is also a strategic ally of several small nations and kingdoms, whose unidentified airplanes at times attack Iranian targets in Syria. 

A new twist emerged when Russia hosted an “inter-Palestinian meeting” in Moscow on February 28-29, inviting representatives from Fatah, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian factions. This was not the first such meeting, as Hamas’s delegation also visited Moscow shortly after the Oct. 7 massacre. 

Notably, Russian diplomat Alexander Rudakov openly stated, “Moscow will support Hezbollah in the event of a war in Lebanon,” in an absurdist interview rife with claims such as that Israel was using banned phosphorus bombs against Lebanon.

Unsurprisingly, Russia has developed ties with Iran significantly, even to the point of jointly launching satellites allegedly operated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), capable of real-time, detailed Earth imaging, but has not admitted to spying on Israel. 

Amid this complex web of diplomacy and regional conflicts, the Kremlin’s influence in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis represents geopolitical maneuvering and soft power projection, with the Russian Orthodox Church playing a pivotal, often overlooked, role.

Faith under surveillance

Closely aligned with the state’s foreign policy objectives, the Russian Orthodox Church – officially the Moscow Patriarchate – serves as a critical soft-power instrument, using its historical Holy Land presence and significant Jerusalem property holdings to provide Moscow with unique leverage. This religious diplomacy complements Russia’s broader strategy of projecting influence through cultural and spiritual ties.

The patriarchate’s regional influence is long-standing, predating Israel’s founding. It persisted even when it was banned under Soviet rule. In the 19th century, it established a Jerusalem mission – acquiring land and building churches, monasteries, and the iconic facilities it still owns across Israel/Palestinian territories, such as the Russian Compound in the center of Jerusalem, which contains the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Yelizaveta’s and Sergei’s courtyards.

The Russian Compound’s history exemplifies the church’s role: In 2019, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured the release of imprisoned Israeli Naama Issachar by granting Putin’s demands: that Issachar personally request a pardon and that Israel return the entire Russian Compound, including the Yelizaveta’s courtyard housing Israeli security facilities. The compound’s Russian managers are well connected in east Jerusalem, renting space to suspicious entities like an Azerbaijani businessman (former CEO of the largest Russian defense holding by weird coincidence) allegedly involved in bribery (in order to disrupt aliyah) and money-laundering schemes.

The Kremlin’s clergy

Officially registered as NGOs like the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS), their activities are conducted through the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations. They provide aid to Palestinians, operate clinics, support agriculture, restore churches, and engage in interfaith outreach – positioning the church as a defender of Christian minorities while subtly advancing Russia’s regional interests.

Crucially, these NGOs are led by high-ranking Russians with intelligence backgrounds. Sergei Stepashin, former prime minister and ex-FSB head, chairs the IOPS. Vladimir Kalanda, an ex-KGB officer awarded a high military rank by Putin, is an IOPS vice president. 

In 2016, a branch of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society (IPPO) was officially opened in Greece. “It is believed that Bulgarians are our brothers. But lately, they have turned their heads in the other direction. But the Greeks are really our brothers,” said the chairman of IPPO Stepashin at that time. This year, Athens suspected IPPO of trying to influence the internal affairs of Greece and stopped issuing visas to Russian priests. 

Most alarmingly, member of IOPS Archimandrite Vassian (Zmeev), expelled from Bulgaria and North Macedonia over espionage allegations, was swiftly appointed head of the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem at the beginning of October 2023 – inserting an accused spy into an organization rife with former Russian intelligence operatives.

Critics warn that these religious overtures mask Russia’s quest for dominance in the Israeli-Palestinian tinderbox through soft-power alliances and support for groups like Hezbollah, sowing division to gain strategic footholds. Moscow’s alleged cyber operations and disinformation campaigns further aim to inflame tensions. While Russia claims to promote peace based on sovereignty principles, some nations view its actions as undermining Western influence and exacerbating instability.

As the conflict evolves, scrutiny intensifies over external actors exploiting soft-power tactics such as religious diplomacy. Russia’s ability to balance its Israeli-Palestinian relations while advancing patriarchate interests will be pivotal for regional clout.

Beyond debates over Al Jazeera closing or UNRWA’s presence, Israel must confront NGOs and religious organizations clearly affiliated with hostile states and intelligence agencies. Soviet-era memoirs detail how the KGB infiltrated and manipulated groups like the patriarchate and IOPS as fronts for espionage and influence operations abroad. It’s comical that the IOPS conducts excursions called “Russian traces in Israel.” If you want to hide something, put it in the most visible place. Everyone in the world is looking for a Russian trace – but these guys are openly admitting everything.

This article relies on open sources and as Israel’s security establishment is likely aware, the public deserves transparency about the potential threats it poses. All Russian-speaking immigrants are aware of this.

To Western readers: Please, expose these deceitful tactics. Be informed and curious about this. And who knows, maybe one day you will be inspired by this to write a bestselling spy novel, based on the true story, called something like “The Sand, the Cross, and the Spy.”

This is the same type of viper that Israel has already nourished in the guise of many NGOs. These people influence local politics, enter offices, and communicate with various organizations in those territories, including the Red Cross, the United Nations, and the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Understanding the complexities of the Kremlin’s cloaked Holy Land gambit now takes on renewed urgency. We must not allow the Russian regime to hijack faith and use the Orthodox Church as a Trojan horse for its geopolitical machinations in Jerusalem. When Israelis understand Russia’s religious soft-power plays, Moscow will likely no longer operate so comfortably on Israeli soil.

Meanwhile, the Jewish state remains an important object for Russian geopolitics; new Russian outposts are being built on our northern border, in the Syrian Golan. The main ideologist of the Russian war of expansion, the radical philosopher known for his antisemitism, Aleksandr Dugin (called “the engine of Putinism”) claims Jerusalem to be originally Russian and calls for it to be taken – just like he did with Crimea before, and other Ukrainian cities later. We all know what was happening then.

From holy sites to military bases: Tel Peres to the Red Sea

Compounding these concerns, Israel research center Alma reports new Russian military positions in Syria’s Taslim area, just a few kilometers from Israel’s border. OSINT experts also report preparation for establishing a Russian military port in Port Sudan, Red Sea, closer to Eilat. Recently, Russia announced joint Syrian army exercises for “protecting Syria’s territorial integrity” in the air, on land, and in the Mediterranean.

Russia invaded Ukraine citing NATO border threats and yet deploys troops and bases thousands of kilometers away, under Israel’s nose. Ukraine’s invasion pretext was also “military exercises.” 

While I am not suggesting a Russian attack on Israel, developments in the Russian Orthodox Church and IOPS activities here have become truly alarming. Moreover, Russia’s hybrid aggression against Israel is already taking place.

Incidents fueling tensions

Visiting southern Israel, former US representative to the UN Nikki Haley, in particular, blames Russia for Oct. 7. “The Hamas massacre was orchestrated by Iran. It was helped by Russian intelligence. Russia’s intelligence helped them to know where everything was,” she told reporters in Sderot on May 27. On that same day, a Russian citizen attacked police officers in Israel. The incident was qualified as a crime and hooliganism, not a terrorist attack. Later, on June 4, Israeli prosecutors charged the same Russian citizen, Murad Yashayev, with assaulting police near Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate. According to Walla! news, familiar with the police reports and the case, Yashayev beat an officer unconscious: “Putin will deal with you! I killed Jews in Ukraine and Russia, and will here. All Russians will come to kill you in Israel.”

Putin recently stated, “What’s happening in Gaza isn’t a war. It’s civilian annihilation...” 

Meanwhile, OSINTers claim that Russia uses a broad network of bots to spread footage of civilians they themselves killed in Syria, falsely presenting them as victims in Gaza. Based on their own deceitful propaganda, Putin then makes statements.

There is nothing in this article that Russian speakers do not know about. But it’s important to make Westerners and non-Russian Israelis aware of it.

We have for too long been captive to the illusion that Russia and Putin are our friends. But Russia uses its insidious soft-power projection through supposed spiritual entities that are mere fifth columns for the FSB’s designs. And their military developments, aggressive rhetoric, and misinformation create a complex, potentially dangerous situation for Israel.  

The Magazine requested official comment from the ROCOR (Russian Orthodox Church outside of Russia) mission, as well as the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), but as of press time had not received a response. All the information provided in this article is based solely on open sources (including official organizational websites, biographies of the personalities, and news resources).

The writer is a journalist, publicist, and enthusiast of religion and foreign affairs, with a primary focus on the Middle East and Central Europe. baratsleonid@gmail.com