- September 28, 2024
- 2:57 pm
- Video
Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel Yevgeny Korniychuk, speaking on air “Suspilne. Studio”spoke about the “joint” (?) efforts of Ukraine and Israel to ensure the safety of Bratslav Hasidim during their pilgrimage to Uman on Rosh Hashanah. More than 50,000 pilgrims are expected to arrive this year, almost double last year's figure of about 37,000.
According to Yevgeny Korniychuk, currently no one in the Israeli government has taken direct responsibility for organizing the pilgrimage.
“I met with the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and when I asked which of the many government ministers was responsible for this year’s pilgrimage, he said that he would like to find out for himself. Their government has also proposed to refrain from pilgrimage this year.
However, as a rule, this causes the opposite effect and the number of people, on the contrary, increases.
We heard that this figure could double compared to last year, when more than 37 thousand pilgrims came to the celebration.”
Korniychuk said that Ukraine has officially appealed to the Israeli government with a request to provide additional air defense systems to protect pilgrims, as well as to increase the number of Israeli police officers who will help Ukrainian law enforcement agencies maintain order. The diplomat noted that Israel has experience in creating temporary shelters, such as metal or metal-plastic structures that were used in the Gaza Strip and northern Israel. These structures could be used to protect pilgrims in the face of a military threat.
The Israeli side expressed its readiness to consider these proposals and support their implementation as much as possible…… but there is still no clear advice.
“We drew the attention of our Israeli colleagues that we cannot ensure the safety of pilgrims based on the fact that we are at war. They also noted that we need help with the provision of additional air defense systems to ensure the safety of pilgrims. If they don’t want to help Ukrainians, let them help themselves.”
Korniychuk also stressed that the Ukrainian embassy maintains close contact with the authorities of Uman and the military administration of Cherkassy, ensuring that security measures during the pilgrimage will be strengthened. According to the ambassador, the safety of pilgrims is a priority area of cooperation between the two countries.
In addition to requests for air defense and temporary shelters, Ukraine has asked Israel to increase its police presence. Before the start of a full-scale war in 2022, Israeli police officers regularly came to Uman – about 20 people. Last year, due to the war, they were not there, but in 2023, 14 police officers arrived. Their presence is expected to increase this year due to the increase in the number of pilgrims.
Ukrainian authorities reported that pilgrims this year will travel to Uman through Poland, Romania and Moldova. However, Moldova refused to accept charter flights due to security reasons and due to financial debts from last year, which complicated logistics. Many airlines have canceled flights, forcing pilgrims to take regular flights through other countries and change trains.
Despite the Israeli government's recommendations against traveling to Ukraine due to the war, the number of pilgrims may be higher than expected, as such calls often backfire.
