Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu departed secretly on Thursday for an official visit to Russia, Arutz Sheva-Israel National News has learned exclusively. Minister Eliyahu is expected to remain in the country over the weekend and return to Israel this coming Sunday.
This marks the first visit by an Israeli government official to Russia in three years, and it is taking place despite the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and the heightened diplomatic sensitivities with Israel.
During his trip, Minister Eliyahu held working meetings with businessman Lev Leviev, alongside representatives from the Israeli Embassy and the local Jewish community.
The objective of the trip and meetings is to advance a plan to establish a special heritage center for immigrants from the former Soviet Union, to be built in cooperation with the Rishon LeZion Municipality. The construction cost of the new center is estimated at over 100 million shekels, and it is designed to preserve the history of Soviet Jewry before it fades from memory.
"Since the 1990s, no one has been telling this story, and in another moment, it will be forgotten," Minister Eliyahu told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News, explaining the necessity of the project.
The background to the minister's decision to build the center stems from a personal childhood experience. When he was 12 years old, his father, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, took him to witness the massive waves of Aliyah (immigration) from Russia. The minister recalled seeing his father cry back then, and later became acutely aware of the cultural disconnect facing Russian Jews - a realization that ultimately drove him to spearhead the center's creation.
The visit is noteworthy given that, about a month after the outbreak of the Swords of Iron War, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a condemnation after Eliyahu suggested that dropping an atomic bomb on the Gaza Strip was an option.
"This appears to be an admission by Israel that it possesses nuclear weapons. If we are hearing official statements on this matter, then where are the inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)?" Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at the time.