Scoop: Israeli foreign minister warns cabinet against helping Russian oligarchs

Driving the news: A White House official said in a briefing on Saturday the U.S. and its allies were forming a task force to identify, hunt down and freeze the assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs.

• Lapid made the comments following reports that Israeli institutions, including the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum and Tel Aviv University, wrote to Tom Nides, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, asking the United States not to sanction Roman Abramovich — the Russian Jewish oligarch owner of the English Premier League soccer team Chelsea.
• Lapid told them that the U.S. and European countries were going to sanction Russian oligarchs, some of whom are Jewish and have interests in Israel, according to the cabinet ministers.

What they're saying: "You have to be very careful because those guys have connections and they can call you on the phone and ask you for things," Lapid said at the cabinet meeting, per the ministers.

• "Don't commit to anything because it could cause diplomatic damage. Say you can’t help them and give them the number of the foreign ministry."

What's next: Lapid told the cabinet that until now, Israel hadn't received any requests from the U.S. or EU to join the international sanctions against Russia.

• But senior Israeli officials told me Israel won't have any other choice but to implement the sanctions in order to avoid getting hit by them.

Go deeper: The latest on the Russian invasion of Ukraine