The Israeli Ministry of Health has opposed the traditional Hasidic pilgrimage to Uman to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah through the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to DW, this was announced on August 4 by the Director of the Department of International Relations of the Ministry of Health of Israel, Asher Shalmon.
“Our professional position is that they even should not be allowed through the assembly of 3 thousand people. The only way to stop this is for the Ukrainian authorities to take appropriate steps," he said, according to the Israeli newspaper Arutz Sheva.
According to Times of Israel, earlier the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, Yakov Dov Bleich, said that the Ukrainian government allowed at least five thousand people to visit the annual pilgrimage to Uman. This figure can be increased to eight thousand, but pilgrims must wear masks in public places and refrain from gatherings of more than 30 people.
DW sent a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding permission or prohibition of entry of pilgrims to Uman but has not yet received a response. In July, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry decided that through the coronavirus pandemic, the arrival of tens of thousands of pilgrims in Uman this year is impossible.
In 2019, more than 30,000 pilgrims arrived in Uman to celebrate the 5780th Jewish New year (Rosh Hashanah). This year, Rosh Hashanah will begin on September 18.