Russian soldiers harassed four Israeli journalists covering the Georgian conflict.
Reporters from Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, Ynet news Web site, and Channel Two television were stopped Thursday by Russian soldiers outside Gori, a flashpoint of the week-long border war with Georgian forces.
Footage taken at the scene showed one soldier cursing the journalists and ordering them out of their car at gunpoint. Warning shots are heard off-camera.
The reporters said the soldier who had accosted them made off with the vehicle, which contained their passports. But the vehicle was returned hours later after a senior Russian officer intervened, they said.
Separately, a correspondent from Israel’s Channel Ten television was accosted by a pistol-waving Russian soldier while taping a report at the same location. He fled the scene unhurt.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.