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KIEV: Hundreds of Hasidic Jews, in addition to children, who have sought a pilgrimage site in Ukraine, are being detained at the country’s border with Belarus due to restrictions on coronaviruses.
Tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews every Jewish New Year to the city of Ouman, in central Ukraine, to make a stop at the grave of Rabbi Nahman, the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement.
This year, the Jewish New Year is celebrated from September 18th to 20th.
The pilgrims left after the governments of Ukraine and Israel last month asked the Hasidic Jews to move to Ulaan, a city of 80,000 inhabitants.
Both countries are ready for an increase in coronavirus infections, with Kiev ending borders on foreigners until the end of September and Israel having to impose a three-week blockade from Friday.
Haim Weitshandler, one of the pilgrims caught between the border crossings of Ukraine and Belarus, on Tuesday suggested that the Israeli government come to the rescue, saying he was guilty of a “humanitarian catastrophe. “
“We are stuck with no money, no roof, no food or drink,” the 40-year-old man told the AFP, referring to “sick and hungry people” who stay out for days “in the rain and the cold. “
A video broadcast through Ukrainian border guards showed dozens of ultra-Orthodox pilgrims in classic dresses praying in the middle of a road near a long line of trucks.
Suitcases and bags covered the floor while a guy played guitar.
Ukrainian border guards armed with shields looked, forming a cordon.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday discussed the stage on the border with border guard chief Sergiy Deyneko said at his workplace. Ukraine had completed the stage, he added.
In Belarus, strongman Alexander Lukashenko said he had asked officials to provide assistance to pilgrims, accusing Ukraine of “closing its borders” and leaving many others on unbiased territory.
The Belarusian Red Cross said that pilgrims did not have “sufficient resources to meet their fundamental needs” and that assistance is provided, especially to parents with children, the elderly and the disabled.
”THREE CHARTER PLANES”
As of Tuesday morning, 690 pilgrims were at the Ukraine-Belarus border and many more are expected to arrive, Kiev said.
“We expect 3 charter planes, some 600 foreigners, to arrive in Minsk,” Deyneko said, referring to the capital of Belarus.
He added that up to 1,000 more people are expected to reach the border near Ukraine’s northern Chernigiv region, while in the northwest, up to 700 people were expected closer to the Jytomyr region and up to 1,500 others near the Volyn Region.
Authorities deployed aircraft and drones to monitor the border and said pilgrims received kosher food and water from Jewish organizations.
The border guard service said other people were looking to enter Ukraine “even after receiving explanations and were fully aware of access restrictions for foreigners. “
Thousands of pilgrims have already arrived in Ouman, police said.
In statements to the AFP in the historic city, Haim Hasin, a representative of the 43-year-old Jewish community, expressed hope that travelers will soon be allowed in.
“We are looking to do everything we can to prepare the place. All restrictions have a good reputation here,” he said.
As the pilgrims approached the tomb one by one and kissed her, the faithful in yellow vests moved without delay to disinfect it and temperature checks were carried out. Outdoor signs encouraged others to wear masks.
Last week, an organization of pilgrims broke down the barriers placed for the ordained passage to the shrine and Ukraine announced that it would evict two people.