U.S. and Ukrainian Authorities Warn Travelers Against Uman Pilgrimage

BY: Yehuda Alter 

With days to go to Rosh Hashana, and thousands who had been held back the last two years due to the Coronavirus Epidemic, anticipation and doubt are high regarding the famed Uman pilgrimage this year due to the Russian invasion. 

1,000 chassidim have already arrived in Uman, and many thousands more have travel plans. Against this backdrop comes the warning from the Ukrainian Government for travelers not to arrive. This is congruent with the U.S. State Department's position on travel to Ukraine, which is at level 4: do not travel. The State Department has clear instructions to citizens stuck in Ukraine, and urges citizens not to travel to the country which remains under a Russian assault. 

“When the echoes of the Russian enemy explosions on Ukraine don’t stop, we must take care of ourselves,” the Ukrainian embassy in Israel said in a Facebook post. “Please, avoid coming to Uman on Rosh Hashanah and pray that peace will return to Ukraine and the blessed pilgrimage will be renewed,” the embassy said.