The coronavirus cabinet approved an outline for allowing Israelis to travel to Uman, Ukraine, for Rosh Hashanah.
According to the outline that was approved just after midnight on Sunday, all travelers will be required to be tested 72 hours before their flight, whether they are vaccinated or not. Similarly, returning to the country will require a coronavirus test 72 hours in advance of one’s flight.
As per the requirements for returning from any other “orange” country, travelers will be asked to fill out a quarantine form 24 hours before arriving. On arrival, they will once again be tested at the airport and then enter isolation for a minimum of seven days.
It is customary for tens of thousands of hassidic and other Jews to make an annual pilgrimage to Uman to pray at the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.
“We learned lessons from the mistakes made last year,” Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana said last week when he first revealed details of the plan. “The outline that has been formulated will allow travel to Uman while maintaining rules that will secure health.”
Last year, as many as 30,000 ended up finding their way to Uman for the holiday, although the country approved only a small number of travelers. At the time, there was a high level of coronavirus infection in Ukraine, and the Health Ministry reported that many returnees brought the virus back with them.
There was one particular plane, for example, in which 13 returning Israelis were diagnosed with the virus.
Concerned that an outline for travel to Uman might not be approved, thousands of Israeli yeshiva students have already left for the country.
Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.