KIEV: More than 1,000 Jewish pilgrims who massed for several days along Ukraine’s border gave up hope of entering the country on Friday after being turned back due to coronavirus restrictions.
The Orthodox-Jewish believers including hundreds of children camped out this week in no-man’s land between the Ukrainian and Belarusian border crossings ahead of Jewish New Year celebrations this weekend.
Tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews travel to the central Ukrainian city of Uman every Jewish New Year to visit the tomb of Rabbi Nahman, the founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement.
The standoff between pilgrims and armed Ukrainian security services sparked tensions at the Novi Yarylovychi border crossing and inflamed a diplomatic row between Minsk and Kiev.
Ukrainian border guard spokesman Andriy Demchenko told AFP Friday that most pilgrims had returned to Belarus and only “a few pilgrims” hoping to enter Ukraine remained at the crossing point.
Belarus, which earlier said the pilgrims should be allowed to visit holy sites in Ukraine, confirmed that fewer than a dozen people were attempting to cross.
Belarus’s Border Committee representative Anton Bychkovskiy said pilgrims were “leaving the border en masse” and traveling onwards to nearby cities by bus and taxi.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday wished Jews a happy New Year and acknowledged the country had been “forced to limit mass events” over safety concerns.
The believers — mainly Israeli, but also American and French — departed for Uman this year even though both the Ukrainian and Israeli governments last month urged them not to travel because of the pandemic.
An Israeli minister on Thursday called on those camping out on the border to return home and uphold quarantine rules on arrival in Israel.
Kiev closed its borders for most of the month of September citing a growing number of coronavirus infections, but the pilgrims attempted to bypass the restrictions by traveling through Belarus.
Ukrainian border guards announced Friday they had arrested several pilgrims, including Israeli and US citizens, trying to enter the country illegally from Hungary, Poland and Romania.
Kiev has reported more than 169,000 cases of coronavirus and 3,468 fatalities. On Thursday, officials registered a record one-day increase in infections.
The standoff on the border aggravated strained ties between Kiev and Minsk, which have traded barbs over disputed presidential elections in Belarus last month.
Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko earlier instructed officials to negotiate a travel corridor with Ukraine and offered to provide buses to transport religious believers to holy sites in Ukraine.
Kiev in turn accused Belarusian authorities of giving false hope to the Hasidic pilgrims that they would be allowed to travel to Uman.
Both Ukraine and Israel are keen to avoid a spike in coronavirus infections.
Israel imposed a second nationwide lockdown on Friday to tackle one of the world’s highest coronavirus infection rates, despite public protests over the new blow to the economy.
The three-week shutdown starts just hours before Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year.
Meanwhile, up to 3,000 Hasidic Jews have arrived in Uman for the celebrations entering Ukraine before the ban, police said.
Law enforcement has tightened security near Rabbi Nahman’s tomb where pilgrims have congregated.
![]()
Jewish pilgrims quit Ukraine border campout over virus entry ban
Short Url
https://arab.news/2ffpr
Jewish pilgrims quit Ukraine border campout over virus entry ban
- The standoff between pilgrims and armed Ukrainian security services sparked tensions at the Novi Yarylovychi border crossing and inflamed a diplomatic row between Minsk and Kiev
- Ukrainian border guard spokesman Andriy Demchenko said that most pilgrims had returned to Belarus and only “a few pilgrims” hoping to enter Ukraine remained at the crossing point
Columbia student detained by ICE is abruptly released after Mamdani meets with Trump
NEW YORK: Federal immigration authorities arrested a Columbia University student early Thursday, triggering protests on campus along with allegations that agents had entered the university-owned residence under false pretenses.
Just hours after detaining student Ellie Aghayeva, though, the federal government abruptly reversed course, permitting her to walk free after an apparent intervention by President Donald Trump.
In a social media post Thursday afternoon, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he expressed concerns about the arrest during an unrelated meeting with Trump, who then agreed to release her immediately.
“I am safe and okay,” Aghayeva wrote on Instagram, minutes after Mamdani’s post, adding she was in “complete shock” from the experience.
The head-spinning series of events marked the latest development to emerge from the Republican president’s unlikely relationship with a democratic socialist mayor he once threatened to have deported.
On Thursday, while pitching Trump on a massive housing project, Mamdani also called on the president to drop cases against several other current and former students facing deportation for their roles in protests against Israel.
Aghayeva, a senior from Azerbaijan studying neuroscience and politics, hasn’t been publicly linked to any of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that roiled Columbia’s campus. A self-described content creator, she has amassed a large social media following by sharing day-in-the-life videos and tips for navigating college as an immigrant.
Early Thursday, federal agents gained entry to her apartment by claiming they were searching for a missing person, according to a petition from her lawyers and a statement released by Columbia. She quickly dashed off a message to her more than 100,000 followers on Instagram: “DHS illegally arrested me. Please help.” A photo accompanying the post appeared to show her legs in the backseat of a vehicle.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Aghayeva’s student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes. Inquiries to Columbia about her visa status and how long she had been enrolled in the university were not returned.
In their petition, attorneys for Aghayeva said she had entered the country on a visa in or around 2016. They declined to provide additional comment, including details about her immigration status.
A spokesperson for DHS, Tricia McLaughlin, denied allegations levied by some state officials that agents had gained entry to her apartment by posing as New York City police officers. She didn’t respond to questions about whether they had claimed to be seeking a missing person.
The use of disguises or other misrepresentations by immigration authorities has drawn attention in recent months, after federal agents were seen posing as utility workers and other service employees in Minneapolis and elsewhere.
The practice is legal, in most cases. But immigration attorneys say such ruses are becoming increasingly common, adding to concerns about the Trump administration’s dramatic reshaping of immigration enforcement tactics nationwide.
In recent weeks, Trump has once again intensified his attacks on several universities, including Harvard and UCLA. The arrest would seem to mark the first federal enforcement action against at Columbia since the university agreed to pay more than $220 million to the administration over the summer.
“It’s a horrifying sign that the roving eye of the administration is turning back to Columbia,” said Michael Thaddeus, a mathematics professor at Columbia and vice president of the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which has sued Trump. “The idea that secret police would abduct and imprison students in our midst is something we’d expect from an authoritarian regime.”
Many students and faculty called on Columbia to increase protections for international students following the arrest last March of Mahmoud Khalil, a former graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, whose deportation case remains ongoing.
In an email to the Columbia community Thursday, acting president Claire Shipman said that residential staff had been reminded not to allow federal law enforcement into university buildings without a subpoena or warrant.
“If you encounter or observe DHS/ICE agents conducting enforcement activities on or near campus, immediately contact Public Safety,” Shipman wrote. “Do not allow them to enter non-public areas or accept service of a warrant or subpoena.”
Just hours after detaining student Ellie Aghayeva, though, the federal government abruptly reversed course, permitting her to walk free after an apparent intervention by President Donald Trump.
In a social media post Thursday afternoon, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he expressed concerns about the arrest during an unrelated meeting with Trump, who then agreed to release her immediately.
“I am safe and okay,” Aghayeva wrote on Instagram, minutes after Mamdani’s post, adding she was in “complete shock” from the experience.
The head-spinning series of events marked the latest development to emerge from the Republican president’s unlikely relationship with a democratic socialist mayor he once threatened to have deported.
On Thursday, while pitching Trump on a massive housing project, Mamdani also called on the president to drop cases against several other current and former students facing deportation for their roles in protests against Israel.
Aghayeva, a senior from Azerbaijan studying neuroscience and politics, hasn’t been publicly linked to any of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that roiled Columbia’s campus. A self-described content creator, she has amassed a large social media following by sharing day-in-the-life videos and tips for navigating college as an immigrant.
Early Thursday, federal agents gained entry to her apartment by claiming they were searching for a missing person, according to a petition from her lawyers and a statement released by Columbia. She quickly dashed off a message to her more than 100,000 followers on Instagram: “DHS illegally arrested me. Please help.” A photo accompanying the post appeared to show her legs in the backseat of a vehicle.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Aghayeva’s student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes. Inquiries to Columbia about her visa status and how long she had been enrolled in the university were not returned.
In their petition, attorneys for Aghayeva said she had entered the country on a visa in or around 2016. They declined to provide additional comment, including details about her immigration status.
A spokesperson for DHS, Tricia McLaughlin, denied allegations levied by some state officials that agents had gained entry to her apartment by posing as New York City police officers. She didn’t respond to questions about whether they had claimed to be seeking a missing person.
The use of disguises or other misrepresentations by immigration authorities has drawn attention in recent months, after federal agents were seen posing as utility workers and other service employees in Minneapolis and elsewhere.
The practice is legal, in most cases. But immigration attorneys say such ruses are becoming increasingly common, adding to concerns about the Trump administration’s dramatic reshaping of immigration enforcement tactics nationwide.
In recent weeks, Trump has once again intensified his attacks on several universities, including Harvard and UCLA. The arrest would seem to mark the first federal enforcement action against at Columbia since the university agreed to pay more than $220 million to the administration over the summer.
“It’s a horrifying sign that the roving eye of the administration is turning back to Columbia,” said Michael Thaddeus, a mathematics professor at Columbia and vice president of the university’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, which has sued Trump. “The idea that secret police would abduct and imprison students in our midst is something we’d expect from an authoritarian regime.”
Many students and faculty called on Columbia to increase protections for international students following the arrest last March of Mahmoud Khalil, a former graduate student and pro-Palestinian activist, whose deportation case remains ongoing.
In an email to the Columbia community Thursday, acting president Claire Shipman said that residential staff had been reminded not to allow federal law enforcement into university buildings without a subpoena or warrant.
“If you encounter or observe DHS/ICE agents conducting enforcement activities on or near campus, immediately contact Public Safety,” Shipman wrote. “Do not allow them to enter non-public areas or accept service of a warrant or subpoena.”
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.