Clashes break out between hassidic pilgrims and Uman locals
Uman Mayor Oleksandr Tsebriy said that the city's residents, who fear the spread of the coronavirus, would prefer not to have visitors in the city this year.
By TOBIAS SIEGALUltra-Orthodox Jewish pilgrims celebrate Rosh Hashanah holiday, the Jewish New Year, near the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in the town of Uman, Ukraine September 20, 2017.(photo credit: REUTERS)
Violent clashes took place on Friday between Uman locals and hassidic pilgrims who recently arrived in the Ukrainian city to visit Rabbi Nachman Breslov's grave site, according to Ynet. Ukrainian police were reportedly forced to create a barrier between the two groups until those involved calmed down and left the area.Uman Mayor Oleksandr Tsebriy addressed the incidents and said that he believes they do not represent the general atmosphere in the city. However, he did say that the city's residents, who fear the spread of the coronavirus, would prefer not to have visitors in the city this year.Coronavirus commissioner Prof. Ronni Gamzu desperately tried to stop Israelis from traveling to Uman, and even wrote a letter to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, warning him that a mass pilgrimage to the Rabbi Nachman of Breslov's grave in Uman could lead to an uncontrollable spike in coronavirus cases in Israel and Ukraine. Gamzu petitioned the president as someone who was worried about the impact of the large gathering on public health, and wrote the letter because he thought it was his job to be in charge of stopping the spread of infection.On Thursday, Ukraine imposed a temporary ban on most foreigners from entering the country until September 28 – Yom Kippur on the Jewish calendar – and extended lockdown measures until the end of October, to contain a recent spike in coronavirus cases.But that didn't stop hundreds of Hasidic pilgrims of making their way to Ukraine in recent days.While some 400 Hasidic pilgrims were detained in Kiev on Friday after trying to enter the country and reach Uman despite the ban, many others did manage to reach Uman, where clashes reportedly broke out between locals and some pilgrims.The Israel Embassy in Ukraine told Ynet that it was arranging to transport 400 prepared meals for Sabbath to the Kiev airport. Ukraine's chief rabbi was reportedly working on providing the detainees with Torah books as well. Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman contributed to this article.
