Bratslav Hasidim cause havoc in Kiev airport

Bratslav hasidim returning from their annual pilgrimage to Uman in Ukraine used the airport loudspeaker, which is designated for announcements and emergencies, to blast hasidic songs.

A video recorded Wednesday in Kiev airport showed passengers laughing as Bratslav tunes blasted throughout the boarding lounge.

A passenger in the terminal told Israel’s Ynet news site that “people of all types and all kinds come to Uman.” But a small group, “some of whom arrive drunk or on drugs, cause embarrassment to everyone [else].”

The passenger further reported that local police do not want to get involved because they know that the pilgrims boost the economy. Nevertheless, “while sitting and waiting for boarding I felt tremendous embarrassment,” he said.

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Another video appeared to show a pilot joining dozens of hasidim dancing in a circle in the airport. The pilot shouted encouragement to the dancers through a bullhorn and the dancing was accompanied by a drum beat and loud singing.

Bratslav visitors to Uman have garnered a bad reputation. Earlier this year it was revealed that one Uman hotel refused to rent rooms to Jews. An administrator at Uman City Plaza told Eduard Dolinsky, the director of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, that the policy was in place because the last time that Jews were allowed to stay at the hotel, it required repairs.

In June two Israelis were arrested by Ukrainian police in Uman after shooting a local man in the face with a BB gun, leading to a brawl between locals and visiting Israelis.

“The visitors were drunk and they thought it was a good idea to shoot from the window of their hotel room with a BB gun at passers-by,” Uman Jewish leader Shimon Buskila told the JTA at the time.

Each year in the lead up to and over the Jewish New Year, Uman sees the arrival of approximately 25,000 Jewish pilgrims from Israel, the United States and Europe. They congregate there for the holiday because it is the final resting place of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, the 18th-century founder of the group. He chose to be buried there because in 1749 and 1768 thousands of Jews were murdered there in pogroms. Rabbi Nachman promised his followers that he would save anyone who visited his grave on Rosh Hashanah from punishment in the afterlife.

The pilgrimage has generated friction between the predominantly Israeli arrivals and locals, many of whom resent the police cordoning off neighborhoods for the pilgrims.