Israel calls on Ukraine to ban Hasidic pilgrimages this year

"Our professional position is that the event should be banned as it would be a gathering of 30,000 people. The appropriate measures taken by the Ukrainian authorities are the only way to stop it," Asher Shalmon, the Director of the International Relations Division of Israel’s Ministry of Health, said on Tuesday, DW reports.

Earlier, Uman town mayor Oleksandr Tsebriy argued against the arrival of Hasidic pilgrims to celebrate the Jewish New Year - Rosh Hashanah - this autumn. He believes it could cause a coronavirus outbreak in the town.

At an interdepartmental meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on July 9, it was agreed that the arrival of tens of thousands of Hasidic pilgrims in the town of Uman for traditional celebrations is impossible, so there is a need to create an alternative format.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement, was buried in the town of Uman in Cherkasy region, central Ukraine. The town became a place of massive pilgrimage. Each autumn, 20-30 thousand pilgrims from different countries come here to celebrate the Jewish New Year.

In 2020, Rosh Hashanah will be celebrated on September 18-20.

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