The Moldovan government has cancelled flight permits for Hasidic pilgrims from Israel to Chisinau. This was announced today, September 9, by the Nativim Tour travel agency, which specialises in organising trips to Uman (Ukraine).
This is the traditional destination to celebrate the Jewish New Year at the Rabbi’s Tomb Nachman from Bratslav.
“Unfortunately, the rumours are true. Since we learned about the Moldovan government’s intentions a few days ago, we have been actively working to change their mind, but the chances of this happening are slim. Everyone who bought a plane ticket with us, at Nativim Tour, will receive a message in the coming days.” — the tour operator notified its clients.
The Moldovan side refused to accept pilgrims for security reasons. The travel agency is still looking for a solution to this problem; charter flights are supposed to depart to Iasi, Romania.
“We are in intensive negotiations with the governments of Romania and Moldova to increase the number of border inspectors to facilitate border crossings during peak hours.” – confirmed the rabbi Nathan Bin-Nun.
According to him, he negotiated with Chisinau, which presented a list of air transport demands aimed at accommodating tens of thousands of pilgrims heading to Uman.
The Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet commented on this report.
Recall that earlier Israel owed Moldova 700,000 shekels ($191,300) for services rendered to the Breslav Hasidim in 2023 (additional security measures and increased security at the Chisinau airport). Then, about 30,000 pilgrims from Israel passed through Moldova to Uman. With the intensification of the military conflict in Ukraine, Israeli pilgrims, in addition to Uman, began to actively visit the grave of the founder of the Hasidic court in the village of Rashkovo (Kamensky district, Transnistria) – Rabbi Shabtai.
As reported EADaily Chisinau is negotiating with the Israeli authorities the abolition of mandatory paid electronic entry permits (ETAs), which will be introduced from the beginning of 2025 for citizens of countries with a visa-free regime. Ambassador of Moldova Alejandro Roitman He warned that if a deal could not be reached, similar tariffs and preliminary approval to stay in the country would be introduced for Israelis wishing to visit the republic.
