AFU soldier: Why are Hasidim allowed to gather for prayer but UOC is not?

More than 37 thousand Hasidim came to Uman in 2023. Photo: Suspilne

AFU soldier Oleksandr, who has been at the front since the very first days of the invasion, in an interview with "Dialog. tut" expressed bewilderment because of the different attitude of the authorities to the Jews and UOC believers.

"It is not clear to me why, for example, the procession to Pochaiv is forbidden during the war, and 30 thousand Hasidim in Uman – okay, and the state allows it. That is, the rights of Ukrainian citizens can be violated and the Constitution can be mocked, but the rights of Israeli citizens must be respected. Therefore, there are more questions than answers here," Oleksandr said.

He also expressed bewilderment at the different attitudes of the authorities to UOC believers and "activists" who promote the interests of the OCU.

"For some reason, they are allowed to call us the UOC-MP, although we are not the MP, we are the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. And you can't put them in inverted commas, you can't call them schismatics, you can't call them something else, because this is already inciting religious discord. What kind of double standards are these?" said the warrior and noted that when the believers of the UOC defend their temples, it is always a prayer. And when "activists" and supporters of the OCU act, it is usually with shouts "Shame".

"They disgrace themselves, they try to disgrace the Lord God and our state as a whole. Because no adequate person, looking at this, will say that we are a democratic state," concluded Oleksandr.

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