“There’s never been a time when the ties were so close. There’s no question that if you think back 40, 50 years — even 25 years ago when the relations started, it was still very cold. Israel was taboo. I remember those days when we dreamed of the Russian president visiting Israel; it was something nobody thought would be possible.” (Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar speaking to the Times of Israel on PM Netanyahu’s visit to Russia, 07/06/2016)