Towards the end of October 2023, several violentantisemitic riots occurred in theNorth Caucasus region ofRussia. The riots occurred during theGaza war, a conflict which caused an increase in antisemitic incidents in various parts of the world.[2]
Background
A few days before the events atMakhachkala Airport, localTelegram channels circulated calls to participate in the gathering at the airport. Messages about "refugees fromIsrael" arriving inDagestan were published by the "Morning Dagestan" Telegram channel, which was launched by Russian-Ukrainian politicianIlya Ponomarev.[3][4] Previously, the same Telegram channel organized the2022 North Caucasian protests.[5]
Timeline
28 October
Khasavyurt
Residents ofKhasavyurt,Dagestan, gathered near the Flamingo Hotel after reports that refugees fromIsrael were being accommodated there. The protesters demanded that all hotel residents come to the windows to look at them. When the guests did not do this, stones were thrown into the building. Those gathered shouted "Allahu Akbar" and demanded to check the basements and let them into the hotel.[6] Police arrived and allowed protesters to check the hotel to make sure it was "Jew-free". After this, a message was posted outside the hotel that Jews were prohibited from entering.[7]
InNalchik, the capital ofKabardino-Balkaria, a local Jewish religious national-cultural community center under construction was set on fire, with the attackers writing "death to theYahuds" on its wall.[8]
Makhachkala Airport
A mob stormedUytash Airport nearMakhachkala, Dagestan, after the arrival of aRed Wings flight fromTel Aviv. Messages spread onTelegram that a direct flight from Israel was arriving in Dagestan, with calls to come to the airport and prevent the plane from landing.[9] While Russian-language news websiteMeduza said that the crowd was made up of "local residents,"[9] IsraeliChannel 12 reported that most of the people in the crowd were Palestinian expatriates.[10]
As indicated on the airport website, the plane from Tel Aviv landed at 19:17 local time. After this, dozens of protesters stormed the airport and reached the runway,[9] some of whom, according toIzvestia, managed to climb up onto the plane's wings.[11][12] 20 people were injured, among them nine police officers, of whom two were injured seriously.[13] The passengers on the plane were unharmed. 150 suspects were identified, while 60 were detained.[14] The Russian civilian aviation agencyRosaviatsia announced the airport's closure tentatively until 6 November,[15] but it re-opened on 30 October.[16] By the evening of that day, the number of detained increased to 83.[17] On 5 November, the number of detained was reported to be 201, with 155 of them charged.[18]
Reactions
Domestic
The head of Dagestan,Sergey Melikov, called the incident a gross violation of the law, although Dagestanis "sympathize with the suffering of the victims of the actions of unrighteous people and politicians and pray for peace in Palestine".[19] Ovadia Isakov, the rabbi ofDerbent, reportedly home to the largest Jewish population in Dagestan, was quoted as saying "The situation in Dagestan is very dire,” and that “The [Jewish] community is very frightened ... there is no place to run.”[20]
Regional leaders from two other regions of the North Caucasus called for calm. The main Mufti of Dagestan made a similar appeal.[19] The head ofChechnya,Ramzan Kadyrov ordered the Interior Ministry and the National Guard to detain would-be demonstrators in the republic and authorized them to open fire.[21]
Russian war correspondentAlexander Kots suggested that "those who want to kill Jews should go toGaza orKyiv. I know the address ofone, I can tell you:Bankova, 11".[22]
PresidentVladimir Putin ordered a meeting of his top security officials, while his spokespersonDmitry Peskov blamed the unrest on "outside interference".[15] Putin blamedUkraine for being a main influence for the antisemitism.[23]
Due to concerns over the sensitive nature of their cases, the trials of 140 suspected participants in the riots were moved toKrasnodar andStavropol Krais. In November 2023, a court in Dagestan sentenced 15 participants in the airport attack to between two and ten days' imprisonment, while in August 2024, a court inArmavir sentenced five people to up to nine years' imprisonment for their role in the riots.[24]
International
US presidential spokesperson Adrienne Watson condemned the riots.[25] Canadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau also condemned the events as "deeply disturbing".[26] Stefan de Keersmaecker, a spokesperson for theEuropean Commission, also condemned the attacks.[26]
The Israeli government called on Russian authorities to protect Israelis andJews in Russia.[19]
Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy, who is of Jewish descent, blamed Russia's "widespread culture of hatred towards other peoples, which is propagated by state television, experts and authorities", for the events.[19]
Human Rights Watch characterized the Russian response as inadequate, stating that "instead of cracking down on critics, authorities should focus efforts on preventing xenophobic attacks".[20]
