"An exhibition of hatred, fanaticism, and intimidation" is how White House representative John Kirby described the anti-Semitic actions in Makhachkala, where a crowd of protesters against Israel's actions stormed the airport with the aim of identifying Israelis there.
"You all saw what happened yesterday in Dagestan, Russia. This is something that can only be described as a horrific display of hatred, fanaticism, and intimidation. Some people compare it to the pogroms of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and I think that's probably an apt description, given the videos we saw there," said John Kirby, Coordinator of Strategic Communications for the U.S. National Security Council.
Kirby finds it telling that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not condemn the violence in Makhachkala.
"Local provincial officials, of course, fairly quickly condemned this mob, and I've heard in the last hour that Mr. Putin has decided to have some sort of meeting with representatives of the security services. But beyond that, we haven't heard anything from the Kremlin: no condemnation, no calls to stop the hatred, discrimination, and fanaticism against Jews, nothing. And I think that's very telling," said John Kirby.
Commenting on Putin's statements, where he claimed that Western countries and Ukraine were behind the events in Dagestan, Kirby said that this is "classic Kremlin rhetoric."
"Well, isn't that cute? This is classic Russian rhetoric, isn't it? When things go wrong in your country, just blame someone else, blame external influences. The West has nothing to do with it. It's just hatred, fanaticism, and intimidation, plain and simple, and a good leader, an honest leader, would call it what it is, as President Biden did here in this country, instead of blaming the West for something," said John Kirby, Coordinator of Strategic Communications for the U.S. National Security Council.
On Monday, October 30th, Russian President Putin accused Ukraine and Western intelligence agencies of inciting unrest in Dagestan, particularly at the airport in Makhachkala. According to Putin, "the U.S. and its satellites are organizing deadly chaos," are responsible for "the tragedy of Palestinians and the conflict in Ukraine," and are attempting to "divide Russia from within."
