- September 14, 2024
- 12:10 am
- Israel
The scandal surrounding the annual pilgrimage of Bratslav Hasidim to Uman for the Rosh Hashanah holiday continues this year. The pilgrimage is under threat of disruption due to Moldova's closure of transit through its territory.
The decision comes as Israel has yet to pay Moldovan authorities for additional security measures organized for pilgrims in 2022. Israel reportedly owes Moldova more than 2.5 million Moldovan lei (NIS 530,000), and this amount has not yet been transferred to the State Treasury accounts.
Traditionally, Hasidim travel to Uman via Moldova, especially after the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine, when direct routes became impossible or unsafe. However, this year the situation has worsened – more than 16,000 pilgrims who had pre-booked tickets for flights via Moldova recently received notices of their cancellation. This has caused a real crisis in the Bratslav Hasidic community, many of whom have no idea how they will be able to get to the Rosh Hashanah celebrations in Uman.
Rabbi Nathan Ben-Nun, head of the organization “Ihud Breslav B’Uman,” which manages the tomb complex of Rabbi Nachman of Breslav in Uman, sent an urgent letter to members of the Knesset, especially those representing the religious and Orthodox parties. In this letter, he begs the Israeli authorities to intervene in the situation and help resolve the problem in order to avoid chaos and possible unpleasant incidents. He emphasized that for Breslov Hasidim, visiting the tomb of Rabbi Nachman in Uman on Rosh Hashanah is not just a tradition, but a religious law, and they cannot refuse this trip.
“This is an issue that must be resolved soon, so that, God forbid, we do not find ourselves in unpleasant situations as we did in the past,” Rabbi Ben-Nun wrote in his letter. He also expressed disappointment that last year the State of Israel was actively involved in organizing the pilgrimage, but this year it is completely ignoring the issue: “We find it inconceivable that one year the State of Israel takes responsibility for the event and turns it into a government task, and the next year completely ignores the issue and acts as if it were a private event that interests no one except the participants themselves. The State of Israel created this crisis – it is up to them to resolve it.”
The Moldovan Embassy in Israel commented on their country's decision to close the transit route. According to them, Israel officially stated that the pilgrimage to Uman is a private initiative, not a state event. In this regard, Moldova does not consider itself obliged to provide special security measures for pilgrims, especially given that Israel has not yet paid for last year's expenses. The Moldovan authorities also emphasized that the airport in Chisinau has limited capacity, and additional security measures cannot be provided this year due to organizational shortcomings and risk analysis.
The situation was further aggravated by warnings from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. In connection with the ongoing war and Russian aggression, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has warned of possible security threats to pilgrims, especially from attacks on civilian infrastructure and sacred sites. Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk noted that there is a real danger of attacks from Russia and called on pilgrims to heed the recommendations of the Ukrainian authorities in order to avoid becoming victims of attacks: “We urge pilgrims to consider possible threats and be extremely careful when planning a trip to Uman, as the Russian regime is deliberately attacking innocent citizens.”
Despite these threats, last year’s figures showed that the pilgrimage to Uman remains an important event for many Hasidim. In 2022, despite martial law and Russian aggression, more than 23,000 pilgrims visited Rabbi Nachman’s grave in Uman. However, this year, if the situation with transit through Moldova is not resolved, a real humanitarian problem could arise, with thousands of pilgrims seeking alternative routes, possibly attempting to cross borders through illegal means.
Thus, the pilgrimage to Uman this year is in danger of being disrupted. The Bratslav Hasidic community places great hopes on the intervention of the Israeli authorities, which, in their opinion, should resolve the crisis.
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