Ukraine will not allow the annual pilgrimage of tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews to Uman to go ahead next month due to security concerns caused by the ongoing war with Russia, according to reports in Hebrew media late Saturday.
The decision to prevent pilgrims from visiting the grave of Hasidic leader Rabbi Nachman of Breslov over the Rosh Hashanah holiday is due in part to a ban on mass gatherings that has been in place across Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the Maariv news outlet reported.
Russia has stepped up its drone and missile attacks on cities in Ukraine over the past month, including major attacks on western and central Ukraine, where Uman is located.
In previous years, Ukraine has strongly advised pilgrims against visiting the area due to safety concerns, but tens of thousands have nevertheless made the journey, entering Ukraine via its border with Moldova.
An unnamed Ukrainian official told the i24 news outlet that Kyiv is frustrated by Israel’s lack of support in the face of Russia’s threats, and has demanded that, in the event that the pilgrimage is allowed to go ahead as planned, Jerusalem provide both financial support and a physical police presence on the ground in Uman.
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Separately, the outlet reported that the Moldovan government is also demanding various assurances from Israel — on the assumption that the visitors will in fact arrive — before it agrees to allow Hasidic pilgrims from Israel to fly into Moldova and head to Uman from there.
Hasidic Jewish pilgrims sing and dance on a street next to the tomb of Rabbi Nachman, ahead of the Jewish new year of Rosh Hashanah in Uman, central Ukraine, on September 15, 2023. (Genya SAVILOV / AFP)
Among its demands are that Israel fund a temporary terminal for the additional flights ferrying pilgrims to and from the pilgrimage site, to the tune of eight million shekels; police presence along the route and on the flights; and that it fund any necessary security and logistical equipment.
The report said that Israel has until September 3 to transfer the full amount for the operation to the Moldovan government, or it will not be allowed to proceed.
Tens of thousands travel annually to Uman for the Jewish New Year to be at the gravesite of the Hasidic sage Rabbi Nahman of Breslov, who lived at the turn of the 19th century.
The pilgrimage to Uman for the Jewish New Year next month has become an increasingly urgent priority for Haredi leaders, who have asked for permission for community members to head to the site and reportedly worked to secure NIS 10 million ($3 million) in Israeli government funds to facilitate travel to Ukraine via Moldova.
The discussions over Uman come as Haredi lawmakers press Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF to allow draft-dodging yeshiva students to partake in the pilgrimage, with Shas party leader Aryeh Deri claiming that the journey is a religious obligation and should not be treated as leisure travel.
FILE: Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men traveling to Uman in Ukraine for the Jewish new year holiday of Rosh Hashanah, seen at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, on September 5, 2018. (Avi Dishi/Flash90)
These efforts appeared to have not been so far successful, as reports on Thursday stated that the IDF was planning to station military police at ports of entry across Israel, including Ben Gurion Airport, to arrest draft evaders trying to head out for the holidays.
The Attorney General’s Office told the government on Friday that it has no right to create a mechanism to let ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers leave Israel, and that any plan to let draft dodgers travel to Uman would be illegal.
The discussion are taking place amid a national debate over the longstanding Haredi exemption from mandatory military service. Some 80,000 Haredi men are eligible for the draft at a time when the IDF says it is facing an urgent manpower shortage amid the ongoing war.
Haredi leaders have instructed their followers to avoid the draft, portraying it as a threat to their way of life, and are pushing to enshrine mass exemptions in law.
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