Against the backdrop of the Gaza conflict, anti-Jewish attacks have been on the rise in Russia’s Muslim-dominated North Caucasus. Israel has urged Russian authorities to protect Israelis and Jews.
A violent crowd stormed the airport in Makhachkala, in the Republic of Dagestan in southern Russia, on Sunday evening in search of Israeli citizens after word spread that a plane was arriving from Israel.
Russian news reports said people in the crowd shouted anti-Semitic slogans and tried to storm the plane, which had landed from Tel Aviv. Video on social media showed some in the crowd on the landing field waving Palestinian flags.
The protesters broke through doors in the terminal, with some running onto the runway and others breaking through barriers to check cars leaving the airport, according to videos posted on social media.
Numerous people also poured onto the airfield. The airport was temporarily closed, and arriving planes were diverted to other airports, the Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia said. The government of Dagestan reported that “the situation is under control, law enforcement is working at the scene.”
crowding on the Dagestan airport runway continues. pic.twitter.com/iuYkXuN0KW
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) October 29, 2023
Israel urges Russia to protect Israelis, Jews
Israel has urged Russian authorities to protect Israelis and Jews in their jurisdictions following media reports of potential reprisals by pro-Palestinian protesters in Dagestan.
A statement by the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said the Israeli ambassador in Moscow was working with Russian authorities. “The State of Israel views gravely attempts to harm Israelis citizens and Jews anywhere,” the statement said.
“Israel expects the Russian law enforcement authorities to safeguard all Israeli citizens and Jews, whoever they may be, and to take robust action against the rioters and against the unbridled incitement being directed at Jews and Israelis,” the Foreign Ministry statement said.
⚡️People in Dagestan stormed the airport in the regional capital Makhachkala, where a flight from Tel Aviv was due to arrive. The enraged crowd was looking for Israelis. As a result of the unrest, the airport had to be closed pic.twitter.com/0BF6L1HsxA
— RT (@RT_com) October 29, 2023
Anti-Semitic rage in North Causacus
Authorities in Dagestan called on people taking part in storming the local airport looking for Israelis to stop “illegal acts,” asking its residents not to “succumb to provocations.”
“We recommend that all persons who have violated the operating procedures of the [airport] facility not to continue illegal acts and not to interfere with the work of airport employees,” Dagestan’s government said on Telegram.
The storming of Makhachkala airport was not an isolated incident, but part of a broader trend in the predominantly Muslim region of the North Caucasus.
On Saturday, a crowd of angry people surrounded a hotel in the city of Khasavyurt in Dagestan because of a rumor that refugees from Israel were staying there. According to local reports, several dozen men entered the hotel to allegedly check the passports of hotel guests.
In Nalchik on Sunday, tires were set on fire next to a Jewish cultural center under construction. The building was defaced with extremist slogans such as “Death to the Jews,” according to security officials in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. In the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia, demonstrators called for the expulsion of the local Jewish population.
dh/jcg (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
Clash Report
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Meanwhile, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has reached the borders of Russia.
A flight from Israeli Tel Aviv arrived at the airport in Dagestan’s Makhachkala, and a huge crowd of local residents gathered to greet it (not in a kind way), provoked by the reports of Telegram channels.
With the full connivance of the local security forces, the crowd began to storm the airport and began to “check” the passports of passengers in search of Jews.
They were even able to find one, which almost resulted in the use of force against him.
Angry Dagestan crowd attempts to attack planes parked on the runway of Makhachkala airport in search of Jews.
Frightened passengers and crew urgently lock themselves inside their planes, while the crowd surrounds the planes and tries to climb inside right along the wings. pic.twitter.com/gfwtsllHpD
— Clash Report (@clashreport) October 29, 2023
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BREAKING: Flight from Israel to Russia’s Dagestan diverts as pro-Palestinian mob storms terminal looking for Israelis and Jews – media reports
BREAKING 🇷🇺 : Clashes are still ongoing at the airport in #Dagestan between protestors and security forces. pic.twitter.com/CWnSYOMEVI
— Zaid Ahmd (@realzaidzayn) October 29, 2023
#Russia This is reportedly the scene at the airport in Makhachkala, Dagestan, where a group of people gathered after a flight from #Israel was announced. There have also been reports of messages indicating that apartment owners are refusing to rent to residents from Israel. pic.twitter.com/2KXdlknYKT
— Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova) October 29, 2023
🇷🇺🇮🇱 Anti-ZIONIST protesters gathered at the airport in Dagestan, Russia — where a flight from ISRAEL is due to arrive.
pic.twitter.com/T64QJ1yRfB— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) October 29, 2023
