Israel–Russia relations

The State of Israel is represented in the Russian Federation through an embassy in Moscow and a consulate-general (to be opened) in Yekaterinburg. Russia is represented in Israel through an embassy in Tel Aviv and a consulate in Haifa. Russia is a member of the Quartet on the Middle East. For many years, Israel was a haven for Russian Jews. This was especially the case during the aliyah from the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1990s. Israel and the Soviet Union, Russia's predecessor state, were on opposing sides during the Cold War. However, the relationship between Israel and Russia has improved significantly since the early 2000s, with the election of the more pro-Israel Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and the election of the more pro-Russia Israeli leader Ariel Sharon. Putin has had a close relationship with long-serving Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, relations took a downturn during Yair Lapid's tenure as Prime Minister of Israel. Relations improved after Netanyahu's return as Prime Minister, although cooler than they were before the invasion. Unlike many Western countries, Israel has maintained relations with the Kremlin, refused to impose sanctions against Russia, and rejected calls to send defensive weaponry to Ukraine. Relations became strained during the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.

The Russian language is the third-most widely spoken first language in Israel after Hebrew and Arabic; Israel has the third-largest number of Russian speakers outside of the post-Soviet states and the highest as a proportion of the total population; in 2017 it was estimated that 1.5 million Israelis could speak Russian, which would amount to 17.25% of Israel's population. Over 100,000 Israeli citizens live in Russia, with 80,000 of them living in Moscow, while hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens live in Israel.