Thousands of Israelis traveling to the tziyon of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in Uman, Ukraine, ahead of Rosh Hashanah will no longer be able to connect through Moldova and will instead be rerouted through Romania and Poland, a trip organizer said on Sunday.
This year’s trip has become even more challenging after Moldovan authorities decided last week to bar Israeli charter flights from landing in their country, citing security concerns at the airport. The decision came after months of negotiations to facilitate the flights. “We feel exploited by the Moldovans after months of talks on the issue,” said Levi Yitzhak Gvirtz of Ichud Breslev in Uman.
The change is expected to affect approximately 15,000 passengers on charter flights, half of the 30,000 visitors anticipated this year, with the majority coming from Israel. Organizers are now working to reroute all travelers through neighboring Romania and Poland, as flights directly to Ukraine are not possible due to the ongoing war.
“People will not give up on the trip,” Gvirtz noted, “but now they will face more discomfort, and that’s a shame.”
Despite warnings from Israeli and Ukrainian officials last year, including a cautionary statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the pilgrimage to Uman continues. Netanyahu had urged travelers to take full responsibility for their safety, stunningly saying, “God has not always protected us, both on Ukrainian and other European soil.”
The United States has also issued a travel advisory against American citizens traveling to Uman.
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6 Responses
it does not matter that ppl have been doing it for many years now, it is a meshugas going to a rebbes tzion for Rosh Hashanah when has it ever been done and I’m not talking a chaddishe tzion I’m talking about any tzion
lo zu haderech I’m not a gadol and I do not represent science but it should not take a gadol to understand this
Moldova says Israel didn’t pay their bill from last year. Does anyone think their lying?
One of the biggest avoda zara! Reenacting the egel hazahav without even understanding it. Sad to see am Israel in this filth and tumah. who doesn’t see why the gaon of Vilna excommunicated all theses hashoudins 3 times is still blind. Not a slight chance we have a Geula berachamim with all the avoda zara inside us caused by all these fakes rebbes and admourims of the hassiduyot of the Satan ! I am still a mitnaged and will be a mitnaged until eliyahu Hanavi bring the messiah to remove all this filth and sheker inside of us , erev rav zera amalek
The Gaon of Vilna did NOT excommunicate all chassidim only certain ones.
Why not go to Lubavich or Lyadi or even Siberia that has many kvuros
Why should a country want to blamed when a bunch of nutty Jewish tourists get themselves by “touristing” in a war zone, during a war.