Goldknopf said to ask Netanyahu to allow draft dodgers to travel to New York for High Holidays

United Torah Judaism chair Yitzhak Goldknopf appeals to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow Hasidic ultra-Orthodox Jews to fly to New York and other destinations over the High Holidays, despite travel bans due to their refusal to report for mandatory military enlistment, Hebrew media reports, citing a letter sent to the premier by the Haredi lawmaker.

The Ynet news site earlier claimed that Shas leader Aryeh Deri is seeking an agreement with the Defense Ministry and the army to allow Haredi men who are under travel bans to make the annual pilgrimage to Uman, Ukraine, claiming that the journey is a religious necessity and should not be treated the same as travel for leisure.

Goldknopf reportedly writes to Netanyahu asking that trips for Hasidic Jews to New York and other destinations be included in the deal, calling them “a sublime spiritual experience that has no substitute, and it is our duty to allow them the right that is given to others.”