Hasidim from the USA were not allowed into Ukraine: details of the conflict

The international charitable foundation named after Rabbi Nachman from Bratslav considers such actions of border guards to be a violation of human rights aimed at humiliating national honor and dignity, writes "Glavcom".

Photo: Shutterstock

On Sunday, August 30, at the Boryspil airport, Orthodox Jews from Great Britain and the United States, who had tickets for transit flights through Ukraine, were not allowed into Ukraine.

This was reported by the press service of the Rabbi Nachman International Charitable Foundation from Bratslav.

The video, which was published by the media, shows how a group of about 10 Hasidim were surrounded by border guards on the runway, and then escorted into the plane.

The Rabbi Nachman International Charitable Foundation of Bratslav contacted US citizens who were on the plane. They spent several hours on board, awaiting the decision of the Ukrainian authorities, including women with children among the passengers.

“We arrived in Ukraine in transit and we have plane tickets from Lviv to another country. But we were unable to go to passport control to show our documents. We, Orthodox Jews, were forcibly taken onto the plane without any explanation. In addition, we spent several hours on a stuffy plane with no way to satisfy our needs. We were forbidden to film or call,” said one of the foreigners.

The Rabbi Nachman International Charitable Foundation from Breslav considers such actions of border guards to be a violation of human rights aimed at humiliating national honor and dignity, as well as restricting the rights of citizens on the basis of religious beliefs, combined with violence.

“We ask the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky to intervene in this situation and resolve the issue,” the statement said.

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Partner at the Ante Law Firm, Andrey Guk, notes that in accordance with aviation rules, a transit passenger is one who arrived in the country and then flew on the same flight.

“Buying a ticket to Ukraine and transferring to another flight from Ukraine within 2 days and pretending that you are flying in transit will not work! According to aviation rules, a transit passenger is one who arrived and then flew on the same flight. If a passenger flies within Ukraine on another flight or another carrier within 2 days, this is a transfer passenger. But Ukraine did not allow foreigners to transfer,” the lawyer explained.

Detention on August 25

On August 25, 50 Hasidic pilgrims who flew in from Israel were kept at the Boryspil airport for several hours. The plane with them flew in from Tel Aviv at 17:45. But during the passage of passport control, the Israelis, among whom were women and children, were detained and not allowed into Ukraine.

The pilgrims noted that they flew to their relatives in Uman to celebrate the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashanah.

Iryna Rybnitskaya, a lawyer with the Rabbi Nakhman Foundation, noted in her comments to the Glavkom that there was no ban on Israeli citizens from entering Ukraine at that time.

“We only called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Press Service of the State Tax Service. There is no prohibition. And no one knows why Israeli citizens are not allowed into Ukraine,” Rybnitskaya said.

After the scandal, pilgrims began to be admitted. On the same day, at a meeting, the Office of the President confirmed the imposition of restrictions.

Restrictions on the entry of pilgrims

On August 25, Ukraine decided to limit the Hasidic pilgrimage to Uman on the Rosh Hashanah holiday this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. This was reported at a meeting at the President's Office with the participation of Vladimir Zelensky, writes "Glavcom".

“At the request of the Prime Minister of Israel, a decision was made to significantly limit the Hasidic pilgrimage to Uman for the celebration of Rosh Hashanah,” they noted.

What is meant by "significant limitation", the government did not explain in detail.

Detention on August 27

On August 27, at night, Ukrainian border guards at Kiev airport detained about 70 Israeli citizens, who were interrogated for several hours. According to the Rabbi Nachman International Charitable Foundation, the Israelis were detained "without reason and explanation," notes "Glavcom".

According to the fund, the same situation is with Israeli citizens at the airports of Zaporozhye and Odessa.

Among the detainees were women with babies. From 3 am they were forced to stay at the airport and sleep on the floor, they had no food or water. One child reportedly lost consciousness.

It is reported that the citizens of Israel are shocked and outraged by such a reception from the state of Ukraine, which has a visa-free regime. Most of them plan to take legal action and complain to the European Court of Human Rights.

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Clashes between local residents and Hasidim

On the night of August 28, a group of Hasidim tried to break through to Uman. Video of the night assault and clashes with local posted on Facebook Sergei Alekseev, deputy of the Umansky district council from the Svoboda party.

As eyewitnesses explained, several local residents did not allow Hasidic pilgrims to enter the pilgrimage area on the street. Pushkin.

It is noted that the police tried to prevent clashes between Hasidim and local.

Mayor of Uman, Alexander Tsebriy, came to Kiev on August 18, spent the night under the President's Office and spent the day under the building to wait for the president and convince him not to allow Hasidim into Uman in order to prevent an outbreak of coronavirus infection.

We add that every year 50 Hasidim from different countries come to Uman, who for three days celebrate and conduct various religious rituals, visit holy places.

Earlier it became known that the Israeli authorities may ban flights to Ukraine. Now every third patient with coronavirus in Israel is a representative of the Orthodox sector. In particular, the main coordinator of the fight against coronavirus in the country recommended that the government limit as much as possible the travel of pilgrims to Uman in Ukraine to the grave of Rabbi Nachman - due to the high risk of an outbreak of mass infection and the spread of the disease.

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