"It is inconceivable that you, the president of the state, will receive in the president's home, with the honor of kings, the president of Russia who is holding my daughter Naama as a political bargaining chip and for extortion," Yaffa wrote to Rivlin on Saturday.
Yaffa stressed that she expected the president to notify the Russian delegation that he has "no intention" to host Putin or the delegation.
Naama's mother warned Rivlin that she would come straight to the entrance of the president's home and block Putin's entry with her body. "All I ask is that you not instruct your security guards, who are Naama's age and who could all be in a Russian prison instead of Naama, to hold me back from my obligation as a mother and as a citizen of the State of Israel, who sees a royal dinner with the Russian president as a personal and national disgrace," she wrote.
Putin is expected to visit Israel as part of the Fifth World Holocaust Forum, which will be held at Yad Vashem on January 23.
Naama’s mother, Yaffa Issachar, in an interview with i24NEWS on Wednesday, was asked whether she thought Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials should welcome him or clarify that he is not wanted in Israel. “I think that if he does not release Naama before he comes, I do not think he will be welcomed here. I am surprised by my government.”
Issachar was traveling from India to Israel and had a layover in Moscow, when Russian authorities discovered she had 9.5 grams of cannabis in her luggage.
In Israel, Issachar is largely seen as a victim of Russian brutality. It is believed she was arrested to pressure Israel into releasing a Russian national, Alexei Burkov, who was arrested in Israel and extradited to the US. Burkov is suspected of credit card fraud.