In Uman, Hasidim set fire to the cross
A wooden Christian cross was set on fire by one of the Hasidim who celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, in Uman.
The cross on the bank of the Kamenka River was placed by the residents of the city, reports jewishnews.com.ua.
It is reported that a group of Hasidim went to the river to perform a traditional rite.
The offence was recorded by a security camera.
The police are conducting an investigation to establish the identity of the arsonist.
The head of the Jewish community of Uman condemned the incident and stated that it was a criminal act incompatible with Judaism. The Israeli ambassador to Ukraine, Eliav Belotserkovsky, also subjected the incident to harsh criticism and officially apologized on behalf of Hasidim.
As reported by the UOJ, earlier a group of drunk Hasid pilgrims, flying to Uman, made a fight with the crew of the airline International Airlines of Ukraine at the Israeli airport Ben-Gurion.
The airport representative said that every year the mass departure of the Hasidim Jews to Uman, where they see in the Jewish New Year at the grave of Rabbi Tsadik Nachman, is accompanied by improper and unruly behaviour.
The attempt to set fire to the cross is not the first incident of this kind in Uman. A year ago, an 18-year-old Hasidic, Israeli citizen Shimon Netanel, destroyed the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, the founder of the Bratslav Hasidism, died on October 16, 1810, was buried in Uman.
