No headway made toward the discussed exchange of Jerusalem courtyard
By LAHAV HARKOVSocial Equality Minister Gila Gamliel continued her discussions with Russian Envoy to the Middle East Mikhail Bogdanov on Tuesday about a possible humanitarian pardon for Israeli-American Naama Issachar.(photo credit: Courtesy)
Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel continued her discussions with Russian Envoy to the Middle East Mikhail Bogdanov on Tuesday about a possible humanitarian pardon for American-Israeli Naama Issachar.Gamliel’s office called the meeting “fruitful,” but the minister said: “Out of national responsibility and at the prime minister’s request, I will not give details of the content of the meeting.”Issachar, 26, was at the center of the meeting. The dual American-Israeli citizen was sentenced last year to more than seven years in prison in Russia for allegedly possessing 9.5 grams of cannabis in her luggage, while on a stopover in Moscow on her way from India to Israel.Gamliel and Bogdanov met several days after holding a previous meeting in Russia, after which Gamliel said Israel should take a positive approach, and focus on the humanitarian need for Issachar to be released.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formally requested that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will be in Israel on Thursday for the Fifth World Holocaust Forum, pardon Issachar on humanitarian grounds, and talks have been taking place at the highest levels toward that goal. Russian media has reported that Putin is favorably considering a pardon.However, diplomatic sources said that too much public pressure could harm the efforts, which explains Gamliel’s reticence to further describe the meeting. Issachar’s family also asked activists protesting for her release to keep a lower profile, but advertisements with the message “Please President Putin, bring Naama home” appeared in Jerusalem’s Yitzhak Navon train station on Tuesday.There will likely be a price for Issachar’s release, and Putin has long sought to have his country own more parts of the Russian Courtyard in central Jerusalem.The compound was built in the 19th century by the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society for Russian pilgrims to Jerusalem. Israel bought the lot for $3.5 million worth of Jaffa oranges in 1964 and was fully taken over by Israel in 1967. Then prime minister Ehud Olmert promised it to Russia in 2008, and the transfer was completed under Netanyahu’s premiership.Despite persistent talk of the Russian Compound being part of the negotiations, The Jerusalem Post has learned that the Prime Minister Office has not begun examining legal aspects of the transfer. Netanyahu’s office did not ask the attorney-general for his opinion as to whether it would be possible, indicating that it may not be making a serious offer of land to Russia.The 2014 Referendum Law, which requires a national referendum upon giving up land in a diplomatic agreement, would not be an obstacle here, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin – who drafted the bill – said. “It’s not transferring sovereignty,” he explained. “It’s a matter of the land’s diplomatic status. We don’t need a referendum to build an embassy, for example.”
