Israel warns citizens against travel to Russia’s Muslim regions

The announcement called on all Israelis in those areas to leave as soon as possible.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Following Sunday’s riot at the Makhachkala Uytash Airport in Dagestan, Israel’s Foreign Ministry and National Security Council warned Israeli citizens against traveling to a number of Russian republics and regions in the North Caucusus.

The Council raised the threat level to four, the highest level, for the Russian republics of Adygea, Chechnya, Dagestan with Makhachkala as its capital, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia-Alenia, and the Krasnodar and Stavropol districts with Mineralnye Vody as its capital.

The announcement called on all Israelis in those areas to leave as soon as possible.

The announcement also recommended “that all Israelis staying abroad exercise vigilance, stay away from demonstrations and protests, and obey the local security forces in case they get caught up in the incidents.”

On Sunday, a flight from Tel Aviv to Russia’s Dagestan Republic in the North Caucasus was forced to redirect after pro-Hamas rioters stormed Makhachkala Uytash Airport, seeking to lynch Jewish travelers.

Professor Ze’ev Khanin, an expert on post-Soviet politics and society at Bar-Ilan University, told the Tazpit Press Service, “The Russian authorities were not supporting this event, and that it was probably fueled by Iran and other extreme Islamic groups that tried to get an event like this to happen.”

The attack came on the heels of a Hamas delegation’s visit to Moscow for talks with Russian leaders.

Hundreds of rioters overran the airport, located in the capital of the Muslim-majority region of Russia. Video footage showed rioters with Palestinian flags shouting “Allahu akbar” (“God is great”) as they searched the terminals for Israeli passengers.

Other videos showed Muslim protesters stopping vehicles in the area to ask motorists if they were transporting tourists from the Jewish state.

Since the Gaza war began with Hamas’s attack on southern Israeli communities, anti-war demonstrations have swept the Arab world. Israel has warned its citizens against traveling to most Arab countries, and in particular singling out Turkey for the highest threat level.