With the news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Israel found itself in a political conundrum. As thousands of Israelis demonstrated in support of Ukraine, the Israeli government’s position on the crisis remained ambivalent. This cautious posture is interpreted as a deliberate effort within the government to maintain crucial ties with Russia without compromising Israel’s commitments to its Western allies. Israel’s foreign minister, Yair Lapid, who initially spoke on Ukraine only in terms of “territorial integrity” without mentioning Russia, broke away from passive voices within his government sh…