Ukraine-born MK: PM should call Putin, demand Russia crack down on Dagestan violence

Ze’ev Elkin, a Ukraine-born member of Benny Gantz’s National Unity party who often served as a translator for Israeli prime ministers in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, tells Channel 12 that the current chaos at a Dagestan airport is not coincidental or random, but rather the consequence of the Russian political leadership’s stance in the wake of Hamas’s October 7 massacre of Israelis.

“There are radical Islamic groups in those areas, but what’s happening today is not happenstance,” he says.

He notes that Russia’s deputy foreign minister gave “a king’s welcome” to a Hamas delegation in Moscow on Thursday. He says the Hamas delegates claim they were told that Russian military schools would for years study the “success” of the October 7 assault on southern Israel.

“When that is the nature of the discussion, obviously there are radical Islamic groups that conclude: It is permitted [to carry out attacks like the one in Dagestan],” Elkin says.

Elkin notes that Russian Jewish organizations have been telling Russian Jews “not to think about holding demonstrations in support of Israel. That wasn’t the case in the past. The atmosphere was different in the past.”

The MK, who sits on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, says the change in the Russian political leadership’s stance relates in part to US-Russia tensions and to Russia’s growing proximity to Iran. “That has influenced Russia’s behavior in this crisis with Hamas.”

Elkin refers to new unconfirmed reports from Dagestan that claim there are no Jews or Israelis on the plane that is the focus of the mob assault, and that the authorities have invited three people to go on board, check the passengers, and confirm this.

“Look at where we’ve got to,” he says in horror. “That [a passenger check] from our point of view would be a successful resolution of this incident. And what if, heaven forbid, there is a Jew on board? This is an abnormal situation.”

He says Israel must utilize all its channels to Russia, including possibly having Netanyahu call Putin, and “demand that incidents like this be prevented. One thing the Russians know how to do is to deal with great firmness with protests of any kind — if they want to.”

If this is not handled properly, “there’ll be more and more incidents like this,” he warns. “Russia needs to respond firmly.”

Israel’s obligation is to protect its citizens and Russian Jews, he stresses. And so Israel needs “to demand a harsh response from the Russian authorities and severe punishment for all the participants.”

He notes that yesterday there was an attempt [Hebrew link] to attack a hotel in the same area, where Israeli refugees from the war were said to be staying. “The writing was on the wall.”