Attack on Jews in Dagestan raises questions about Russian support for Hamas

An aggressive mob of hundreds of men stormed Uytash Airport near Makhachkala, the capital of the Russian autonomous republic of Dagestan, on Sunday evening. They were looking for Jewish passengers on a flight from Tel Aviv. They had been encouraged to come via social media after reports that ‘refugees from Israel’ were on their way to the predominantly Muslim republic in the south of the Russian Federation.

The mob forced its way inside by breaking through a glass wall and kicking open doors. It took some time before security forces and police units arrived in significant numbers and brought the situation under control.

According to local authorities, 20 people were injured in the melee and subsequent clash with law enforcement, including nine police officers. The passengers escaped unscathed, according to local authorities.

A Jewish eyewitness told Russian independent media (in exile) Meduza that he was interrogated by the crowd as he stood on the bus that was supposed to take him to the airport. The mob threw stones at the bus and ordered it to stop, after which they asked everyone if they were “Jew or Muslim.” Out of fear, the man said he was Muslim, and he was believed.

Other passengers on the plane from Tel Aviv, which landed at 7:17 p.m., were getting back on board when they saw the mob running onto the tarmac. The passengers from the bus and plane were evacuated after four hours by military helicopters, the eyewitness from the bus told Meduza.

At least sixty arrests have been made following the riot, and Russia’s Dagestan Investigative Committee has announced the opening of a criminal case under a ban on mass disturbances. Based on video images of the mob, more participants are being sought.

Moscow supports Hamas

Kremlin critics see the storm as a result of Moscow’s support for Hamas in the Gaza war. They see the relatively late action of the security forces and the understanding from higher up for the concerns for the Palestinian people as an approval of the actions of the mob.

The Conference of European Rabbis says it has great concerns about the Jewish residents of Dagestan. Gangs are said to be looking for Jews in four different cities. About eight hundred Jewish families live in the autonomous republic.

“It is a direct consequence of the Russian government’s choice of Hamas in this conflict and the lack of condemnation of the October 7 massacre,” Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt wrote on social media. Goldschmidt is the former Chief Rabbi of Moscow and the current president of the Conference of European Rabbis. He fled Russia last year in protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The fact is that Russia did not condemn the Hamas attack on October 7, but only expressed “great concern” about it – even though the attack cost more than a thousand Israeli lives, Russian deaths and eight Russians are being held hostage by Hamas. Hamas has also regularly used Russian-made weapons in attacks, and Hamas is supported by Iran, which is an important ally of Russia in the war against Ukraine.

A delegation of high-ranking Hamas members arrived in Moscow last week for consultations. The militant organization subsequently called Russia its “best friend” and promised to release all Russian hostages as soon as they are recovered. “It is difficult, but we are looking. And if we find them, we will let them go,” said the head of Hamas’s international contacts, Musa Abu Marzouk, according to RIA news agency.

Pragmatic

The Kremlin is, as usual, pragmatic. Russia is absolutely not interested in a Hamas-like organization in its own country. Just think of the Second Chechen War at the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s presidency, from 1999 to 2009. That war was justified as a fight against Islamist terrorism. In 2010, Moscow was shocked by two suicide bombings in the metro. Russian military support for the then wavering Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in 2015 was also given under the guise of the fight against IS terrorists.

There are various theories about why Moscow continues to support Hamas. One is the overall notion that the Kremlin “thrives from world unrest.” As long as the Western world is distracted, Russia can more easily push its own way in Ukraine, for example – is the view shared mainly in the pro-Ukrainian camp.

More likely is the explanation that can be found in Russia’s non-secret agenda: focusing on a new world order, with an important role for the global South. This is argued, among others, by Milàn Czerny of the Carnegie think tank. “The reality is that the crisis in the Middle East is an opportunity for Moscow to present itself as a diplomatic partner to the region and the broader global South,” Czerny wrote.

Now that the war in the Middle East also threatens to cause violent disorder in the south of Russia, Russia turns to another hobbyhorse: the mob was led by ‘foreign forces’. “Dear compatriots!” writes the regional presidential representative Yuri Chaika. “Do not give in to the outright provocations of foreign intelligence services, which are trying to destabilize the situation in the country, split our society, and sow doubts and aggression in people’s minds and hearts!” There are no concrete indications that foreign interference fueled the racist gang activity.

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