Shas head Deri said to block levy on Uman pilgrims that would defray cost to taxpayers

MK Aryeh Deri, the chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, prevented the government from charging Jewish Israelis flying to the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in the Ukrainian city of Uman for the Rosh Hashanah holiday a fee of a NIS 330 ($98), an Israeli newspaper reported Thursday.

Every year, tens of thousands of Jewish pilgrims, mainly Hasidim, head to Uman from all around the world to visit the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (1772-1810) for Rosh Hashanah — the Jewish New Year — celebrated this year on September 23-24.

According to the Haaretz daily, the idea of a levy was raised during a cabinet meeting two weeks ago as a way of offsetting the NIS 10 million ($3 million) in public funds allocated by the government to support the annual pilgrimage.

Part of the money will be used to pay for flights for 50,000 Israelis — 15,000 more than the number of visitors last year. Another portion of the funds will be used to compensate Moldova for assisting with logistics for transiting Israelis, according to the Ynet news site.

Following the Russian invasion in 2022, Kyiv closed its airspace, forcing pilgrims to fly to neighboring countries such as Moldova and Poland and then drive to Uman.

Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel will need to cover the cost of logistics and security to assist Israelis who wish to travel through Moldova to reach Uman, according to a statement recently shared with The Times of Israel by Moldovan Ambassador to Israel Alex Roitman.

Netanyahu and his Moldovan counterpart discussed arrangements for the pilgrimage, “including security and logistical aspects, which are to be covered by the Israeli side,” the statement read.

Per the Haaretz report, when it was proposed to charge the pilgrims themselves to ease the cost to taxpayers, Deri expressed opposition, convincing Netanyahu to reject the proposal.

“The idea was raised by one of the participants in the discussion, and was unequivocally rejected both by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and by Shas chairman Rabbi Aryeh Deri. Deri emphasized that these are worshipers who save up all year… to pray at Rabbi Nachman’s grave in Uman on Rosh Hashanah,” Shas told Haaretz in a statement.

“The costs in question relate only to security arrangements, which are the responsibility of the state toward its citizens, and it is neither logical nor just to impose them on the worshipers themselves.”

Lobbying for draft dodgers

Deri and other Haredi political leaders have been lobbying for Netanyahu and military officials to allow draft-dodging yeshiva students to take part in the annual pilgrimage.

Deri has been seeking an agreement with the Israel Defense Forces and Defense Ministry that would allow Haredi men barred from leaving the country over their refusal to enlist to nonetheless travel to Uman, Hebrew media reported last week.

The Shas leader claimed that the journey is a religious obligation and should not be treated as leisure travel.

Huge crowd of thousands in the streets surrounding the tomb of Rebbe Nachman in Uman jointly saying the Tikkun Haklalli, a selection of Psalms which the rebbe said are particularly efficacious as prayers when said together pic.twitter.com/krejWQ4ugS

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“Rabbi Deri has for weeks been engaged in discussions with the prime minister in order to enable the travel of some 50,000 Israelis — from across the spectrum of communities — who customarily pray each year on Rosh Hashanah at the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Uman — in light of the absence of direct flights,” his office said in a statement.

In addition to Deri’s request, United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf appealed to Netanyahu so Hasidic Jews barred from traveling can be allowed to visit New York and other destinations during the High Holidays.

He reportedly wrote a letter to the premier asking that such trips be included in the deal, calling them “a sublime spiritual experience that has no substitute” and claiming that “it is our duty to allow them the right that is given to others.”

Both Shas and UTJ have been pushing for the passage of a bill to enable most ultra-Orthodox men to continue avoiding mandatory military service, following last summer’s High Court ruling that the decades-long blanket exemptions from army duty traditionally afforded to the Haredi community were illegal.

Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted. The IDF has said it urgently needs 12,000 recruits, due to the strain on standing and reserve forces throughout the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza and other military challenges. Those evading conscription are prohibited from leaving the country.

The Attorney General’s Office informed the government Friday that it has no right to create a mechanism to let ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers leave Israel.

In a letter sent to the government, Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon said that although he was not currently aware of any plans to allow draft evaders to leave Israel for Uman, as doing so would be illegal.

Meanwhile, reports over the weekend indicate that Kyiv is considering blocking the pilgrimage altogether due to security concerns caused by the ongoing war with Russia.

An unnamed Ukrainian official told the i24 news outlet that Kyiv is frustrated by Israel’s lack of support in the face of Russia’s threats, and has demanded that, in the event that the pilgrimage is allowed to go ahead as planned, Jerusalem provide both financial support and a physical police presence on the ground in Uman.

Rossella Tercatin and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.