The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine denied Israeli media reports that Hasidim Jews were allowed to make an annual pilgrimage to Uman.
This was reported by NV.ua.
“According to the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, as of August 6, the government of Ukraine has not made any decision to grant permission to five thousand people to make a pilgrimage to Uman to celebrate Rosh Hashanah,” the MFA responded to a request from DW.
The Ministry noted that negotiations with the Israeli side regarding the visit of pilgrims to Ukraine are still ongoing.
Note that the mayor of Uman Oleksandr Tsebriy proposed to cancel the arrival of Hasidic pilgrims to celebrate Rosh Hashanah this year in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that the traditional celebration of Rosh Hashanah in 2020 is impossible, because Israel is in the 'red zone' for the incidence of coronavirus, and Ukraine has a ban on holding mass religious events.
The celebration of the Jewish new year in Uman is connected with the fact that the city is buried Tzadik (righteous) Nachman, and his grave is one of the most revered shrines and a place of pilgrimage for representatives of the Bratslav movement of Hasidism.
On the night of Rosh Hashanah, they begin to celebrate as the Torah (Jewish religious law) prescribes – noisily and in a big crowd. It is on this day, according to Jewish beliefs, that the Almighty inscribes the name and future in the Book of Life.