Hasidim allowed to use former synagogue building in Uman

Hasidim who come to Uman in the Cherkasy region of Ukraine to visit the grave of their spiritual leader Tzadik Nachman every year can now use the building of a former synagogue, said Serhiy Tulub, the head of the Cherkasy region's administration, the Kyiv Post informs.  

"The Hasidic religious community has full rights to use the building of the former synagogue in which Tzadik Nachman used as a prayer house," Tulub was quoted by the Cherkasy region's administration as saying.

The land site, which has an area of four hectares, is located in Uman, 49 Radianska Street, where the instrument-making plant Megommetr has been located since 1957.

On Dec. 22, 2011, the Cherkasy region's Economic Court invalidated the sale by the city council of the four-hectare land site with the building of the former synagogue on it to the plant, granting a lawsuit filed by the local culture department.

The court also ordered the enterprise to return the land site to the city and the state council to return the money paid for the land site to the enterprise.

Every fall, pilgrims go to Uman to visit the grave of Rabi Nachman. Their number is increasing now that the visa regime has been lifted between Ukraine and Israel.