‘Time is running out’: Ukrainian envoy says Israel hasn’t coordinated Uman pilgrimage

Less than two weeks before the Rosh Hashanah holiday, Ukraine says Israel has not reached out to make necessary arrangements for the annual Jewish pilgrimage to Uman, and that “time is running out.”

“They think it has been agreed somehow by talking through the leaders of the Haredim, who then contact Ukrainian officials,” Ukrainian Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk tells The Times of Israel.

“Time is running out,” he continues. “We don’t know what’s happening.”

Korniychuk says that the sides have to arrange a large Israeli police presence for the pilgrims, who could number 40,000 this year. They also have to agree on delegations of Israeli paramedics, emergency workers and temporary bomb shelters.

Korniychuk laments the fact that this year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have not spoken ahead of the holiday, as they have in the past.

If the arrangements are not made, “we might have surprises this year,” he warns. There is a ban on public gatherings of over 10 people during the war, he notes.

“We don’t need the visitors during a war,” he says, stressing that the tourist fees paid by Jewish pilgrims are used to clean the city after the holiday. The event demands Ukrainian resources during a war, including thousands of emergency workers.

“Why do they think this is our problem and not their problem?” he asks. “I am very surprised.”