The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied Aug. 25 he had requested that Ukraine limit the number of pilgrims traveling to Uman. The formal statement read, "As made clear in a joint statement of Israel and Ukraine published last week, the prime minister and president advised against going to Uman because of the virus situation, but noted and emphasized that it is [the responsibility of] those who decide to go to Uman to keep to health guidelines." In other words, there was no official ban, just a strong warning.
Netanyahu’s quick denial came in response to a statement made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the day that he would accede to Netanyahu’s alleged request and restrict the number of Jews allowed to visit the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov on the Jewish New Year on Sept. 18-20. Today, the Ukrainian president issued a total ban on citizens of “red zone” states from entering the country for 30 days to avoid a rise in coronavirus infections. Israel is considered a “red zone” state.
