Uman mayor threatens to block Hasidim entry to the city at Rosh Hashanah

The mayor of Uman has proposed to set up check-points to prevent the pilgrimage. Photo: 24tv.ua

Alexander Tsebriy, the mayor of Uman, Cherkasy region, threatens to block the entry to the city to prevent the mass pilgrimage of the Hasidim to celebrate the Jewish New Year as part of the fight against the spread of coronavirus. He said this in his video message posted on August 17, 2020, on his Facebook page.

The official recalled that on August 11, 2020, the TES and ES state commission decided on the possibility of the presence of five to ten thousand pilgrims on the territory of Uman during the Rosh Hashanah period. After the protests of local residents, the Commission gathered for a regular meeting, at which its head announced that "the decision has already been made and cannot be modified."

“They didn't hear us!” said Tsebriy after participating in the meeting of the Commission. “Dear Uman residents! I am ready for the most radical measures but within the framework of the current legislation. Do you remember how it was when the entrances to the territory of the city of Uman were blocked by checkpoints? This decision can be made by the TES and ES of the city of Uman. I want to hear how you will react to the fact that we will take such precautionary measures during the Rosh Hashanah period."

He said that he was going to Kyiv to discuss the current situation personally with President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky.

“I am sure that Mr President is not aware of this situation, and I think that he is not sufficiently informed by his so-called public servants. Therefore, I am now leaving for the city of Kyiv, under the Office of the President, and will wait there until they really talk to me and the President personally learns from me about the situation in the city of Uman and the mood of Uman residents," the mayor of Uman stressed.

As the UOJ reported, earlier the mayor of Cherkasy called on Zelensky to prevent thousands of Hasidim – potential carriers of Covid-19 – from arriving in Uman for Rosh Hashanah, as this poses a threat to the population of all of Ukraine and violates the rights of Ukrainian citizens.

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