Moldova says no to flights for Uman pilgrims, says Israel hasn’t covered last year’s expenses

After Moldova unexpectedly refused to approve charter flights for Hasidic pilgrims planning to spend the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanah in Uman, the Moldovan Prime Minister’s Office puts out a statement explaining the decision, which has caused consternation among worshipers planning to attend the annual gathering in the central Ukrainian city.

The decision not to approve the flights was made last week, reports said Sunday after customers were told about the move.

Today, Moldova says that Israel is not willing to cover the costs of temporarily expanding capacity at Chișinău International Airport, and based on security and technical considerations, it had to turn down the requests for charter flights.

In addition, Israel has yet to settle its NIS 700,000 ($186,000) debt to Moldova for last year’s pilgrimage. Israel requested a special corridor for the pilgrims and police escort, but has not transferred the funds to Moldova that it publicly stated it would. Israel has given no financial commitments regarding this year’s pilgrimage, according to Chișinău.

Charter companies sold tickets for the flights in Israel before Moldova had given the green light, according to the statement.

“The smooth functioning of infrastructure remains our constant priority,” says the Moldovan PMO.

Israeli authorities tell The Times of Israel that up to 50,000 worshipers could head to Uman for Rosh Hashanah this year. Organizers are looking to reroute their flights to small Romanian airports near the border with Ukraine, which will make the drive to Uman much longer than the journey from Moldova.