DESS promises to provide all conditions for Hasidic pilgrims in Uman

A meeting of DESS regarding the organization of the pilgrimage of Breslov Hasidim to Uman. Photo: dess.gov.ua

On 12 September, an interdepartmental working group, chaired by Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS), held a meeting regarding the organization of the pilgrimage of Breslov Hasidim to Uman for Rosh Hashanah, reports the agency.

DESS reports that the meeting included representatives from all key state services responsible for handling safety, logistics and the organization of the pilgrimage: Uman’s mayor Iryna Pletneva, head of the Department of Culture and Cultural Heritage Protection of the Cherkasy Regional State Administration (RMA) Oleksandr Shabatin, executive director of the Historical and Cultural Centre of Uman Charitable Foundation Iryna Rybnytska, head of the International Charitable Foundation named after Rabbi Nachman Natan Ben Nun, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the National Police, the State Border Guard Service, the Security Service of Ukraine, and other responsible parties.

"The primary issues being addressed include: procedures for crossing the Ukrainian border, ensuring the safety of pilgrims, setting up the pilgrimage zone in Uman, providing accommodation and food for the pilgrims, as well as creating other necessary conditions for them to express their religious feelings," the statement says.

The mayor of Uman confirmed the city's readiness to receive pilgrims but noted that there may not be enough shelters in the city for thousands of pilgrims.

As reported by the UOC, earlier the head of the Cherkasy RMA asked Hasidim to refrain from travelling to Uman.

Also, the Prime Minister of Israel called the President of Ukraine to discuss the arrival of Hasidim in Uman for Rosh Hashanah.

Read also