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Thousands of Jewish pilgrims travel to Ukraine for Rosh Hashana, despite official warnings

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Thousands of Jewish pilgrims travel to Ukraine for Rosh Hashana, despite official warnings
Photo for illustrative purposes. Hasidic Jews are seen celebrating of their pilgrimage event for the second day of 2023 Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year in Uman, Ukraine on September 17, 2023. (Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Despite warnings from Ukrainian and Israeli officials about security risks, around 35,000 Jewish pilgrims traveled to Uman in Cherkasy Oblast to celebrate Rosh Hashana this year, according to local authorities.

The pilgrims gathered to pray at the tomb of Rabbi Nachman, a significant figure in the Hasidic movement, even as the country remains embroiled in war with Russia. Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman, a prominent leader in Ukraine’s Jewish community, had previously advised pilgrims to avoid visiting due to safety concerns, though many proceeded with their annual pilgrimage.

"Every year (since Russia’s full-scale invasion), I speak on Israeli television and radio, and I call on the (Jewish) pilgrims not to come to Ukraine. My primary concern is for the lives of people," he said, according to Associated Press.

More than 14,000 Jewish pilgrims were unable to travel to Uman, Ukraine, for the annual Rosh Hashana pilgrimage this year due to complications arising from Iran’s missile attack on Israel earlier in the week. The attack, which saw nearly 180 missiles fired, led to the cancellation of several flights from Israel.

This year’s pilgrimage also coincided with heightened tensions in the Middle East, including Israel’s conflicts with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and various Iran-backed militant groups. With Ukraine’s airspace closed since Russia’s full-scale invasion, pilgrims had to travel overland through other European countries.

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Olena Goncharova

Head of North America desk

Olena Goncharova is the Head of North America desk at The Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.

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