Israeli tourists should avoid visiting Uman, Ukraine, for the High Holidays, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also advised them to be fully responsible for their own safety.
During a discussion on the topic at the weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu made unprecedented remarks against such visits, claiming that “God has not always protected us, both on Ukrainian and other European soil.” Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, forewarned the prime minister over the phone that Uman did not have enough bomb shelters for its citizens, let alone visitors.
“It must be known that when missiles are fired towards the State of Israel, people enter bunkers and are protected. No protection or shelters exist, according to Netanyahu.
To visit the grave of a famed 18th-century rabbi, Nachman of Breslov, the founder of the Breslov Hasidic sect, hundreds of primarily Hasidic Jews from Israel and other nations travel to Uman every year before Rosh Hashanah.
Last year, despite Israeli travel advisories and requests from Ukrainian authorities to stay away due to the war with Russia, the primarily male pilgrimages to Uman, which is about 125 miles south of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, continued.
According to a statement from his office, Netanyahu gave the Jerusalem Foreign Ministry instructions to emphasize the travel advisories for Ukraine and outline the hazards associated with visiting that country.
The warning comes despite a deal between Ukraine and Israel on the Uman pilgrimages.
According to the agreement, there would be more people entering Ukraine in the days before the Jewish New Year, which starts on Friday night.
The posts will be open 24 hours a day, and border officers will try to expedite the entry.
Prior to the deportation of Ukrainian tourists from Israel, the Ukrainian ambassador to Israel had vowed to prevent Jewish pilgrims from entering the nation.
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