Hundreds of people broke into an airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the Russian republic of Dagestan, and stormed the tarmac in an apparent attempt on Sunday to locate Israeli passengers on a flight that had landed from Tel Aviv, according to Russian media reports and footage of the incident.
Video circulating on Russian social media showed the crowd surging through the terminal, some waving Palestinian flags. Other protesters shouted antisemitic chants, according to local media. Some carried signs reading “child killers have no place in Dagestan” and “we are against Jewish refugees,” the independent newspaper the Moscow Times reported.
There were reports of demonstrators stopping cars outside the airport to check occupants’ identification papers, while others on the tarmac allegedly swarmed onto the wing of an airliner. A security source told the Israeli news outlet N12 that a small number of Israelis and Jews in the area had been secured, and that they were expected to be evacuated to Moscow.
Insane footage on Russian social media from Makhachkala in the North Caucasus region, where there have been several anti-Semitic protests this weekend.
A crowd of people, some with Palestinian flags, broke into the airport in search of passengers on a flight from Tel Aviv. pic.twitter.com/MZxyvxi6T3
— max seddon (@maxseddon) October 29, 2023
Calls to assemble at the airport and protest the incoming flight had spread earlier in the day over the messaging app Telegram, reported Medizona, another independent Russian media outlet. The scale of law enforcement’s response was not immediately clear, but unverified footage on Telegram appeared to show the arrival of riot police at the airport. The Associated Press reported that police had “converged on the facility.”
There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.
Citing the Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia, Reuters reported that the airport had been closed in the wake of the incident. All aircraft bound for Makhachkala were diverted to other airports, the aviation authority said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Sunday night that Israel “expects the Russian law enforcement authorities to protect the safety of all Israeli citizens and Jews wherever they may be and to act resolutely against the rioters and against the wild incitement directed against Jews and Israelis.”
Israeli Troops Advanced 2 Miles Into Gaza and Planted a Flag
Israel’s Foreign Ministry called for Russia to take “robust action” against the demonstrators. The president’s office said that the Israeli ambassador to Russia was working with Russian authorities on safeguarding Jews and Israelis in the country, according to the AP.
Russia’s Investigative Committee in Dagestan announced late Sunday that it had opened a criminal case on charges of “organizing mass disorder,” the Moscow Times said.
Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the incident in a post on X, calling the footage “appalling.” The Ukrainian president, an early and vocal proponent of Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks, went on to allege that the episode was a symptom of Russia’s “deeply rooted” culture of antisemitism and xenophobia.
“Russian antisemitism and hatred toward other nations are systemic and deeply rooted,” he added. “Hatred is what drives aggression and terror. We must all work together to oppose hatred.”
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