Jewish pilgrims converge on central Ukrainian city to mark Rosh Hashanah

Thousands of Chasidic Jewish pilgrims have been ignoring travel warnings to spend the Jewish new year in the central Ukrainian city of Uman.

The pilgrims were there at the burial site of Nachman of Breslov, the respected Chasidic rabbi who died in 1810.

It came despite warnings that the war in Ukraine made the pilgrimage much more dangerous than previous years.

The Israeli and US governments also cautioned their citizens not to make the trip, but thousands did.

Yitzhak Chai Golan, who lives in the West Bank settlement of Ariel, said he was not willing to be discouraged from the pilgrimage.

“Sometimes we heard a lot (of air raid sirens). But we are used to (this) in Israel; all the time we have this,” he told the Associated Press.

“We have God with us and the big Tzaddik (righteous) is behind us.”

Another visitor was Nahum Markowitz, who had been visiting for the past 31 years.

He said: “We are not afraid. If we come to Rabbi Nachman, he will protect us for the whole year.”

Israel repeatedly warned its citizens against traveling to Uman ahead of the festival.

A Foreign Ministry statement before the New Year advised Israelis to “completely avoid travel to Ukrainian territory, including the city of Uman and its surroundings.

“The volatile security situation includes the danger of aerial bombardment or missile attacks against civilian towns and territories, including in the west and centre of the country.”

It added that it would be difficult for the Israeli government to immediate rescue any Israelis caught in the middle of a firefight.