Israeli envoy to Russia says Tel Aviv passengers hid from weekend airport riot in terminal
By DASHA LITVINOVA
Associated Press
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Israel’s ambassador to Moscow offered new details of the weekend riots at an airport in southern Russia when a flight from Tel Aviv landed there, saying some of the passengers had to hide in the terminal before being flown by helicopter to safety. Ambassador Alexander Ben Zvi blamed extremists in the mostly Muslim republic of Dagestan for Sunday’s violence in Makhachkala but said that overall, there is no antisemitism “on an organized level” in Russia. Authorities say at least 20 people — police and civilians — were injured. Ben Zvi said no passengers were hurt. Authorities say more than 80 were detained in the violence and 17 were convicted of misdemeanors.