30,000 Jewish visitors to make Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to Ukraine, fewer than expected due to Mideast conflict

Earlier this month, Ukraine warned Hasidic Jews to forgo this year’s pilgrimage to Uman due to the war with Russia.

By The Algemeiner

Some 30,000 Hasidic Jews will reportedly go on this year’s annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to the Ukrainian city of Uman to visit the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, the revered founder of the Breslover Hasidim.

An Israeli diplomat had told The Times of Israel that the number of worshipers this year could reach a record 50,000.

However, due to flight cancellations caused by escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist organization in Lebanon, thousands of pilgrims will not be able to make the trip, according to the Ukrainian News Agency.

Citing the United Jewish Community of Ukraine and the Historical and Cultural Center of Uman charitable foundation, the news agency reported on the lower-than-expected attendance.

“This year, due to the escalation in the north of Israel, a number of airlines canceled the flights that the Hasidic pilgrims were supposed to use to reach European countries in order to get to Ukraine,” the charitable foundation said in a message.

“Although the interested parties are looking for a way out of this situation, a significant part of the thousands of pilgrims who want to get to Uman will not be able to do so.”

Each year, tens of thousands of Jewish pilgrims visit Uman, a major pilgrimage site for Hasidic Jews to pray at Nachman’s tomb on the occasion of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which will take place next week.

Up to 500 Hasidim had already arrived in Uman as of last week, with a mass arrival of pilgrims expected in the coming days, according to the State Migration Service of Ukraine.

Since 2020, Ukrainian officials have warned against making the pilgrimage, first due to COVID-19 and then because of the war with Russia. The pilgrimage became more complicated when many commercial flights to Ukraine were suspended following Russia’s invasion of the country in 2022.

Earlier this month, Ukraine warned Hasidic Jews to forgo this year’s pilgrimage to Uman due to the war with Russia.

“Russia’s ongoing full-scale military aggression against Ukraine poses real threats to people’s lives and safety, [making] it impossible to guarantee the safety of foreign citizens on the territory of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Kyiv added that there is a “legal regime of martial law which provides for a number of additional regulations, including restrictions on freedom of movement, a curfew and enhanced patrols, a ban on holding mass events and gatherings, as well as the application of coercive measures against persons who will not comply with the established restrictions.”

Therefore, the ministry wrote, Ukraine “urges Hasidic pilgrims to refrain from this year’s pilgrimage to Uman as part of the celebration of Rosh Hashanah.”

The statement went on to say that due to the war, there are not enough bomb shelters or medical personnel in Uman, and the transportation infrastructure has been compromised due to shelling.

The foreign ministry’s warning came two days after the governor of the region where Uman is located issued a similar statement to Jewish worshipers ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

Like the ministry, Cherkasy Region head Igor Taburets did not say that the pilgrims would be prevented from coming but asked them not to make the trip.

Nonetheless, local authorities were preparing for the pilgrimage with enhanced security measures, according to Taburets.

Earlier this month, Moldova said it would not allow pilgrims to pass through the country on the way to Uman, citing security costs and the limited capacity of their facilities. Some 20,000 pilgrims used Chisinau airport last year to get to Ukraine.

An alternative route into Uman has been prepared through Romania.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about preparations for the pilgrimage last month.

The United States recently issued a travel warning for Uman, urging American citizens not to visit the city due to the security situation.

Uman has been targeted by Russian forces on several occasions during the ongoing war. Last April, at least 20 people, including three children, were killed during a missile and drone barrage launched by the Russians.

Located in the south of Ukraine in the Cherkasy region, Uman was once home to a thriving Jewish community. In 1941, however, the Nazis deported the city’s entire Jewish community, murdering 17,000 Jews and destroying the local Jewish cemetery — including Nachman’s grave, which was later recovered and relocated.

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, several Jewish Orthodox families have moved to Uman.

Last year, more than 35,000 worshipers celebrated Rosh Hashanah at the grave of Nachman, despite Ukrainian authorities issuing similar warnings as they are now about visiting the city amid war with Russia.

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