Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called on Jewish believers to postpone their pilgrimage to Ukrainian holy places

Ukraine will not be accepting Jewish faithful who were planning to attend their religion’s holy places in Ukraine for Rosh Hashanah celebration for the reason of the full-scale war happening in the country.

Oleg Nikolenko, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, explained the country can't provide all the necessary security guarantees for Israeli citizens as the Russian army keeps shelling civil infrastructure and sometimes – religious sites, like Svyatohirsk Lavra Monastery in Donetsk Oblast.

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Each year in September thousands of Jewish believers come to the city of Uman in Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine, where they celebrate Rosh Hashanah according to Judaic religious traditions.

“The only reason we’re not welcoming Jewish pilgrims this year is Russia’s war against our country. Russian army keeps shelling civil infrastructure in Ukrainian cities, therefore we can’t guarantee the security of foreign tourists,” Nikolenko said.

However, this will change after the war will be over, he added.

“We count on our partners, particularly on Israel to help us end the war by keep supporting Ukraine,” Nikolenko concluded.

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Rosh Hashanah is a religious celebration based on the Judaic calendar’s New Year's day which is going to be happening on September 25-27 this year. According to this calendar and its year count, the year 2022 is de facto the year of 5782 since the date when the world was created.

Last year, as many as 29,000 Jewish pilgrims came to Uman for celebration, despite the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. For Uman’s economy, this has always been a good economic opportunity to get more revenues from the tourist business.