Following a ynet report that the government will allocate millions of shekels to fund flights for worshipers traveling to the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov in Uman, Ukraine, and with police and the IDF preparing to intercept thousands of draft evaders who may attempt to fly to the annual pilgrimage, United Torah Judaism lawmaker Yitzhak Goldknopf appealed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to broaden the travel framework.
Goldknopf asked Netanyahu to “expand the outline to also include the thousands of Chabad Hasidim who travel each year during the holidays to be in the presence of their spiritual leader” — referring both to pilgrimages to Chabad headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in New York and to other Hasidic sects such as Skver, Bobov and Vizhnitz-Monsey that hold large gatherings abroad.
In his letter, sent after thanking Netanyahu for his efforts to allow draft dodgers to leave Israel, Goldknopf wrote: “I respectfully ask to raise an additional request — to expand the framework so that it also includes the thousands of Chabad Hasidim who travel each year during the holidays to be in the presence of their spiritual leader … as well as other Hasidic sects that have also approached us on the matter.”
As tens of thousands of reservists are set to be called up again during the holidays for Operation Gideon’s Chariots II, Goldknopf stressed that, for yeshiva students flying abroad outside Ukraine, “this is a sublime spiritual experience that has no substitute, and it is our duty to allow them the same right granted to others.”
He opened the letter by thanking Netanyahu. “I wish to express my deep gratitude and appreciation for the government framework formulated under your leadership to help Breslov Hasidim travel during the holy days of Rosh Hashanah to the resting place of their holy rabbi in Uman,” he wrote.
Goldknopf praised Netanyahu’s “personal concern and willingness to find a suitable solution for the realization of this lofty spiritual occasion, which serves as a source of inspiration and strength for generations of Israeli families,” calling it “an expression of every Jew’s right to celebrate the holiday with his rabbi and to pray at his sacred place.”
He closed by saying he was “confident” Netanyahu would “give this the proper response, so that additional circles in the Haredi and Hasidic public can also be with their rabbis during the holidays — in an orderly, safe and dignified manner.”
Meanwhile, the IDF has received no order to halt enforcement against Haredi draft evaders who may try to leave Israel in the coming weeks for the pilgrimage to Uman. Even if such an order were issued, officials said it would not be legal. The army, police and Population and Immigration Authority have already prepared to continue enforcement during the months of Elul and Tishrei, deploying reinforcements of recruitment bureau soldiers and military police near border crossings. The Israel Police also will assist if riots or resistance to detentions occur.
Military police will remain stationed at Ben Gurion Airport, as they have daily since last year’s enforcement began, with increased presence in the coming days. Soldiers also will be deployed near Haifa Airport, seaports and land crossings with Jordan and Egypt. Interior Ministry border inspectors will be barred by law from allowing individuals flagged with “IDF indication” to depart, even if quiet instructions are given by ministry officials, which remains indirectly influenced by the Shas party.
Failure to enforce the law would constitute a criminal offense for inspectors, security officials warned. Those flagged may be held for up to three hours, but to avoid delays, military police will be on hand to quickly transfer them to expedited hearings at the Tel Hashomer base or other recruitment offices before assigning them to IDF units.
Enforcement will apply to all draft dodgers, secular and religious alike — whether they failed to report within less than 540 days of their draft order, which carries a disciplinary penalty, or longer, which is a criminal offense.
The Defense Ministry emphasized that the law will be enforced “without favoritism.”
“The coordination mechanism between the IDF, police, and the Population and Immigration Authority has recently been strengthened, and there is full cooperation. Once a week, instead of monthly, the IDF now transfers to other agencies the names of all draft evaders who received first and second orders and did not appear within 14 days. We are already at about 15,000 draft evaders, and the numbers will rise as refusals increase. The data is immediately updated in Interior Ministry systems. The IDF indication is also activated upon entry into Israel, and enforcement will apply to arrivals as well.”