Narrative change?
3128
Mar 20, 2019 3:09:57 PM EDT
Q !!mG7VJxZNCI
D1q2eoGWoAUcG1W.jpg
https://twitter.com/BreakingNLive/status/1108424673946157057
(51) children burned alive enough to change narrative for day(s)?
This is NOT a game.
These people are sick.
Q
‘The show must go on’: 35,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews travel to Ukraine for Rosh Hashanah
At midday, pilgrims in Uman recite verses from the book of Psalms. Photograph: Emre Çaylak/The Guardian
The annual pilgrimage brings both prayers and partying to Uman. Many have been undeterred by official pleas to stay away this year
by Lorenzo Tondo in Uman and Bethan McKernan in Jerusalem
Fri 15 Sep 2023 21.13 BST
Unfazed by the bombs, undeterred by the warnings, and in the face of the raging conflict, more than 35,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews from across the world have journeyed to Uman, Ukraine, to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.
“Going to celebrate in a war zone en masse is crazy,” said Azoulay Ruben, a 22-year-old trainee dentist from Paris. “But at the same time, it’s a beautiful thing.”
Rosh Hashanah is a two-day holiday that falls in September or October, marking the beginning of the high holy days. In Israel, it is usually celebrated with family visits and food: traditionally, apples dipped in honey are eaten to symbolise hopes for a “sweet” year ahead.
For followers of the rabbi Nachman of Breslov, however, Rosh Hashanah is a chance to party. Nachman, a great-grandson of the founder of what is today broadly known as Hassidic Judaism, a branch of ultra-Orthodoxy, spent the final months of his life in the Ukrainian city of Uman, 125 miles (200km) south of Kyiv, and died in 1810.
In 1941, the Germans deported the entire Jewish community in Uman, murdering 17,000 Jews and destroying the local Jewish cemetery, including the burial place of Nachman, which was eventually recovered and relocated. About 1 million Ukrainian Jews were killed in the Holocaust.
More than 200 years after Breslov’s death, the sect still makes pilgrimages to his tomb on Rosh Hashanah, when it is believed those who pray over it will be atoned for their sins. Today the celebrations often involve loud music, trance-like dancing and heavy use of alcohol and drugs. Ukrainian police on Friday arrested four Israeli nationals suspected of drug possession at a crossing point outside the western Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, Ynet reported.
“Many come here to pray,” says Natan Ben Noon, the chief rabbi of Uman. “But I assure you that 80% of the visitors are not religious. They come here just to have fun.”
Each year it is as if an ultra-Orthodox slice of Jerusalem had been transported to the quiet city of Uman, with its population of 80,000. The streets are filled with shops that gladly accept payments in shekels, men are dressed in long black coats or white prayer robes, and advertisements and street signs are written in Hebrew. However, before turning on the techno music, at midday it is time to gather in prayer on the street for the Tikkun HaKlali (the general remedy), with thousands of worshippers reciting in unison a set of 10 verses from the Psalms.
Israeli and Ukrainian officials pleaded for worshippers to stay away this year. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is also Jewish, spoke last week in a conversation in which the Ukrainian leader made it clear that there were “not enough shelters in Uman for local residents, let alone foreign tourists”.
The city was last hit by Russian missiles in June, while in April 23 civilians were killed, including three children, after more than 20 long-range Russian missiles struck a residential neighbourhood.
“Israeli citizens who are travelling to Ukraine need to act responsibly regarding their trips at this time,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “God hasn’t always shielded us, especially in Europe … It must be understood that in Israel, when missiles fall on us, citizens enter shelters and there is protection. There, there are no shelters and no protection.”
Despite the warnings, as of Wednesday more than 35,000 foreign visitors had arrived in Uman, the majority from Israel, and others from France and the US.
Moar: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/15/ultra-orthodox-jews-celebrate-rosh-hashanah-uman-ukraine-pilgrimage
Netanyahu calls Zelenskyy as Ukraine-Israel relations take new dive
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under pressure to arrange for thousands of Israeli pilgrims to visit Uman, Ukraine, next week amid tensions with Kyiv
September 7, 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone Thursday evening with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a statement put out by the Israeli premier's office, the first call in nine months between the two.
According to the statement from Netanyahu's office, the two leaders discussed?several topics, including the situation of Ukrainian refugees in Israel, continuing Israeli aid to Ukraine and the deployment of civil defense systems in Ukraine.?
I spoke with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. We talked about continuing Israeli aid to Ukraine, including to refugees from Ukraine staying in Israel, and about continuing to promote aid and the development and promotion of civil defense systems. I raised the need to ensure as much as possible the arrival of worshipers to Uman this year in order to ensure freedom of worship, said the statement.
Netanyahu also raised the issue of Israeli pilgrims traveling to the Ukrainian city of Uman for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year that celebrated Sept. 16-17.
An unnamed Ukrainian official was quoted by Ynet earlier in the day as saying that Netanyahu was the one pushing for a call, citing pressure by Israeli ultra-Orthodox parties who want him to facilitate the visit of thousands of pilgrims to Uman. For more than a century, Jewish pilgrims have been traveling to Uman to pray at the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslow.?
Israel's N12 news outlet reported on Wednesday that Mossad chief David Barnea had spoken by phone with Zelenskyy earlier in the week to help prepare for the pilgrims' arrival.
moar
https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/09/netanyahu-calls-zelenskyy-ukraine-israel-relations-take-new-dive#ixzz8FYIgRCKL