1.5 Years Later: Chief Rabbi Lazar Honored After Horde of Muslim Rioters Tried to Attack Israeli Flight Passengers

A year and a half after hundreds of Muslim rioters attempted to harm passengers on a flight from Israel to Russia, Chief Rabbi Harav Berel Lazar shlita was honored by the airport management in Makhachkala, the site of the antisemitic riot.

The rabbi received an overview of the security measures that have been improved since the incident that shocked Russia and the Jewish world.

At the rabbi’s request, President Putin will award a medal of valor to a government official who physically stopped the attackers.

The rioters chanted antisemitic slogans and attempted to attack passengers arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv to the Dagestan region of Russia in October of 2023, shortly after the Oct. 7 massacre. The airliner belonged to Russian carrier Red Wings.

Authorities then closed the airport, located in a predominantly Muslim region, and police converged on the facility.

Dagestan’s Ministry of Health said more than 20 people were injured, two critically, including police officers and civilians.

Russia’s interior ministry said in a statement at the time that “More than 150 active participants in the unrest have been identified (and) 60 of them have been arrested.”