This year's pilgrimage to Uman has already made headlines – once because the Hasidim ran over Ukrainian citizens, and once because of the mountains of garbage they left behind on the way to the city and in the city itself. Now, for the first time, the extent of crime among visitors to Uman is revealed this past New Year's Day.
According to Ukrainian Interior Ministry figures obtained by Israel Hayom, 16 cases of possession of hard drugs such as heroin, seven cases of disturbing public order and four cases of traffic violations were recorded in Uman. There was also a death (a 7-year-old follower who collapsed and died), 55 cases of loss of documents and 9 other offenses.
In total, the Ukrainian police opened 18 criminal cases, 16 of them for drug possession or smuggling. This year, 35,312 pilgrims visited Uman. As of yesterday, September 18, 7,654 had already left the city in Cherkasy Oblast. This is a significant increase compared to last year, the first year of the war, when about 22,<> Hasidim arrived in Uman.
To secure the event, the Ministry of Interior in Kyiv allocated 1,300 people from all over the country. Israel has assigned 14 uniformed policemen, even though in his conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu days before Rosh Hashanah, Ukrainian President Zelensky asked to dispatch about 100 people.
Now Uman is busy clearing the mountains of garbage left by the pilgrims. All Hasidim who come to Uman are obligated to pay a tourist tax of $40 (or $27, if paid in advance), which is intended, among other things, for cleaning work. This year, however, Ukrainian authorities found correspondence in WhatsApp groups with tips for evading payment. On the other hand, in interviews with Ukrainian media, the Hasidim also complained that there are not enough bins at the main activity site in Uman, Tourist Street (formerly Pushkin). Haim Chazin, owner of the Bauman Hotel, told the Ukrainian Hromadske website: "Why can't the tourist tax fund the placement of a bin in every meter?"
Ukraine's ambassador to Israel, Yevhen Kornychuk, told Israel Hayom: "Despite the great difficulty for the government in times of war, the president decided to open Uman to visits and give the Hasidim an opportunity [to observe their custom]. Our president has a huge heart for Israel."
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