Israel and Ukraine are holding talks and discussing new pilgrimage routes, not just Uman
Announcement: On August 25, Ukraine and Israel publicly discussed not only the next pilgrimage to Uman but also a broader system of religious routes between the two countries for the first time. Behind one diplomatic formulation are tens of thousands of Israelis, closed Ukrainian skies, warnings of Russian strikes, several holy sites, and two separate meetings with Israeli ministers.
Author: Pavel Shveiko
On August 25, 2026, the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, Victor Yelensky, held online negotiations with Yariv Levin — Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, Minister of Justice, and simultaneously Minister of Religious Services. They talked about Uman, but this time the conversation did not end with the grave of Rabbi Nachman.
The official statement mentioned Baal Shem Tov, Shneur Zalman, and the pilgrimage of Ukrainian Christians to the Holy Land.
On the same day, Yelensky separately spoke with the Israeli Minister of Culture, Miki Zohar. This already changes the scale of the story: two Israeli ministers in one day discuss religious trips, Uman, and further cooperation with one Ukrainian department. And all this happens less than…
Read more:
nikk.agency/en/israel-and-ukra…