Ukrainian authorities have appealed to Israelis to forgo the annual pilgrimage to the gravesite of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Uman.
The pilgrimage usually sees tens of thousands of religious Jews descend on the Ukrainian town, but now Ukraine's SBU – the country's law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency – said such a gathering would be too risky in light of the ongoing war with Russia, which could use this in order to undermine Ukraine's overall security.
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In a statement issued by the SBU over the weekend, it said that such a large event could prompt Russia to engage in a deliberate attack. "Our advisory rests on the high likelihood that Russian missile attacks could take place, among other forms of aggression, aimed at tarnishing Ukraine's international standing," it said. The statement went on to say that "it is particularly important to reduce the threats of terrorist attacks in the pilgrimage site and on the access routes."
Ukraine said it would not prevent the Jewish visitors from arriving, although the SBU said, "those who partake in the event would have to fully abide by the rules, including the curfews and the evacuation procedures when air sirens are heard."
Over 1,000 ultra-Orthodox pilgrims are already in Uman, Ukraine, and some 50 charter flights have been booked to bring more before the Jewish holidays, it was reported Wednesday night.
Several outlets reported that charter flights would take pilgrims to Moldova, and then the pilgrims would try to reach Ukraine by land.
Rabbi Nachman was an 18th-century luminary and founder of the Breslov Hassidic movement. The town of Uman, where the rabbi's grave is located, typically receives about 30,000 visitors, mainly from Israel, during the Rosh Hashanah holiday. Other pilgrims also arrive from other Jewish communities around the world.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
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