"I can't believe I've arrived in the Holy Land,'' said Izmylov, 48, a painter who came with his wife and young daughter.
The family fled Grozny on foot Sunday, traveling at night in temperatures of minus 15 degrees Celsius to avoid the fighting. They trekked 300 kilometers to Novcik, a gathering point for Israel's quasi-governmental Jewish Agency.
Baruch Gur, the Jewish Agency official in charge of immigration from the former Soviet Union, said another group of some 50 Jewish refugees remained in Novcik and would be flown to Israel next week.
Gur said about 40 Jewish families still live in Grozny. Much of the Chechen capital has been destroyed and tens of thousands have fled since Russia launched an offensive there last week.
"The situation in Grozny was anarchy," Izmylov told reporters at the airport. He said Jews and the majority Moslems "felt like we were together against Russia."
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