Security measures are stepped up as over 1,000 pilgrims arrive in Uman despite the war

MONDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 2022, 14:24

More than a thousand pilgrims have already arrived in Uman to celebrate Rosh Hashanah [the Jewish New Year, which falls on 25-27 September this year], with local authorities expecting up to 10,000 to come after 18 September.

Source: Ihor Taburets, the head of the Cherkasy Oblast Military Administration, at a briefing at the Ukrainian Media Centre; Ukrinform

Quote from Taburets: "In our opinion, safety today is paramount. Therefore, we should not say that urging pilgrims not to visit Uman is a strict measure."

Details: According to Taburets, the local authorities warned pilgrims in advance about the danger of staying in Ukraine due to Russian military aggression and asked them not to come to the annual Rosh Hashanah celebration.

"They assured us that there is actually a constant war going on in Israel, and they are used to it. Having now analysed all the pros and cons of the fact that pilgrims are going to come anyway, we realised that we should put the focus on refraining from travelling, rather than emphasising that we are categorically against it," said Taburets.

He explained that the reason why the authorities have asked pilgrims to refrain from travelling to Uman is the high probability of missile strikes, and gave a reminder that Uman was badly hit by missile attacks early on in the war.

"Additional restrictions will be introduced in terms of observing the curfew. That is, we will keep track of each individual, and we will prohibit movement through the city by road transport and on foot. Additional checkpoints will be set up on some streets," Taburets said.

He said that counter-intelligence and anti-terrorist measures are being carried out on a regular basis. Also, Taburets noted, large-scale trading and gatherings will be prohibited.

"I hope that the pilgrims will deliberately come in much smaller numbers, but we are still expecting up to 10,000 of them. We will see how it pans out in reality. We now have more than 1,100 people who have arrived and are staying there. We expect an increase in arrivals starting from 18-19 September," noted Taburets.

Reference: Before the war, 30,000 to 40,000 Hasidic pilgrims would come to Uman to celebrate Rosh Hashanah.

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