abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

30 Oct 2023

Russia: Telegram channel allegedly incited an anti-Semitic airport rampage in Dagestan

"Dagestian anti-jewish airport rampage was egged on by Telegram channel", 30 October 2023

A mob of protesters that ransacked a Russian airport in search of Jews...was incited by an antisemitic Telegram channel.

Morning Dagestan, a channel with some 65,000 subscribers, alerted its followers to a scheduled arrival from Tel Aviv, Israel over the weekend.

Insider reviewed and translated a number of its posts, and compared them with events at the airport. The respected Institute for the Study of War also identified the channel as driving the mob.

The tone of the messages was religious, interspersing its instructions with common Islamic phrases like allahu akhbar, inshallah and bismillah. The channel interspersed posts about the plane with anti-Israel posts and updates from Israel's war on Hamas.

The crowd at the airport went further than the channel asked, breaking through security cordons and storming through the airport.

At that point the channel made increasingly desperate appeals for a level of restraint — asking them to only harass any Jewish people it found and not to attack them.

The Telegram channel went on to post detailed instructions, asking people to insist that arriving passengers denounce Israel, then to follow them home and record their addresses. It said that anybody who did not denounce Israel should not be allowed to leave the airport.

At least 20 people were injured during the mob at the airport, including nine police officers, according to the state news outlet RIA Novosti, which cited Dagestan's Ministry of Health.

The identity of the Telegram channel administrator is unclear. According to the Financial Times, the channel is affiliated with Ilya Ponomarev, a Kyiv-based Russian-Ukrainian exiled opponent of Putin and former member of the State Duma.

Part of the following timelines

Tech companies criticized for their complicity & bias against Palestinians regarding the Gaza conflict

Russia: Telegram to ban channels inciting anti-Semitic violence following airport rampage

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.