Minister: Virus czar’s position on Uman stoked anti-Semitism there

Likud Minister Ze’ev Elkin appears to suggest the actions of coronavirus czar Prof. Ronni Gamzu to prevent Israelis from visiting the Uman pilgrimage site over pandemic fears have stoked anti-Semitism in Ukraine.

“Unfortunately in the past few days, we’ve witnessed a pretty serious outbreak of violence there [in Uman],” Elkin told the Kan public broadcaster, referring to a spate of attacks on Jewish worshipers in Ukraine.

“Gamzu’s letter appears to have become a hit among anti-Semites in Uman and outside of it. It could end in bloodshed,” he says.

Ukraine has closed its borders to foreigners to prevent a mass gathering at Uman over Rosh Hashanah, which this year begins on September 18. The decision followed intervention by Gamzu and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke to Ukraine’s leader about a ban, amid fears of a serious coronavirus outbreak there.

Following an outcry over the decision, Elkin has been tasked with finding a compromise to allow restricted travel to Uman.

Several thousand worshipers, many of them Israeli, are already believed to be at the burial site of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav.