Uman 2026: Record-breaking Jewish pilgrimage and Russia's subversive antisemitic campaign

A massive wave of Jewish pilgrims from around the world, primarily from Israel, broke all previous records in September 2026. Why is this happening despite the wartime dangers in Ukraine, and how did Putin's propaganda machine attempt to exploit the arrival of Jewish visitors to Uman to stoke antisemitism?

In September 2026, more than 52,000 Jewish pilgrims visited the Ukrainian city of Uman to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This figure marks the highest attendance on record, surpassing even pre-full-scale war levels. For comparison, typical years saw between 30,000 and 35,000 pilgrims. Notably, the population of Uman is approximately 70,000.

The surge in visitors from Israel may stem from positive experiences of pilgrims who traveled between 2022 and 2025. Many Israelis learned from friends and neighbors that staying in Uman remains safe, despite the ongoing war.

Religious faith also plays a significant role; many are convinced that a "protective aura" from Rabbi Nachman covers Uman, ensuring that no harm can come to them during their pilgrimage.

On the level of fantastic legends, I have even heard "versions" claiming that Israel allegedly deploys an Iron Dome anti-missile system in Uman just before Rosh Hashanah and removes it after the holiday. This belongs more to the realm of folklore, where people indulge in wishful thinking.

Overall, the 2026 pilgrimage passed without major incidents. The exception was a tragedy in the woods: the Ukrainian police are investigating the murder of a pilgrim from London whose body was found in a forest near Uman.

One of the trends in this year's pilgrimage was the increasing proportion of non-Ashkenazi Jews — Sephardim and members of Middle Eastern and North African communities, who accounted for up to half of all visitors. In Israel, among Jews of North African and Middle Eastern descent, a perception has emerged of Rabbi Nachman as "one of their own" sages. His promise to "pull out of hell those who pray at his grave on Rosh Hashanah" acts as a major incentive for them to make the pilgrimage to a distant land of Ukraine.

From personal observation, I have noted that three of my neighbors and fellow synagogue-goers — Sephardic Jews who had never been followers of Rabbi Nachman and had never been to Ukraine before — traveled to Uman this year. Notably, one of them, an IDF officer who spent two years fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza, wanted to "take a break from the war" and traveled to Ukraine, a country now entering the fifth year of its own war.

Their wives and children were not particularly pleased to be left without husbands and fathers for the holiday. In Israel, critics increasingly view the Uman pilgrimage as a form of escapism from family life, likening it to a religious Woodstock.

I would describe the pilgrimage to Uman as a "two-way mirror." On one hand, for many Israeli Jews, it serves as the mirror through which they judge all of Ukraine. On the other hand, for many Ukrainians, the behavior and lifestyle of the pilgrims form the mirror through which they judge all Jews from Israel. Obviously, both mirrors reflect distorted images far from reality, leading to mutual stereotypes. For instance, Ukrainian social media networks are filled with discussions about the mountains of trash on Uman's streets and the overly brazen behavior of some pilgrims, whose "unrestrained" celebrations stand in stark contrast to a nation at war. In response, others point to the massive expenses incurred by the pilgrims and the tourist taxes that replenish Uman's municipal budget. Few take into account a simple fact: no city in the world can perfectly handle an influx of guests that, within a single week, floods in with numbers nearly equal to the population of the city itself.

This year, Putin's Russia decided to pour fuel on the fire of these stereotypes.

During and after the Jewish New Year celebrations, Russian-controlled TikTok account networks distributed a series of AI-generated videos formatted as interviews. In these clips, fake Hasidic pilgrims claimed they were moving to Ukraine permanently. The videos also contained fabricated statements regarding "Ukrainian government payouts of 200,000 hryvnias," "special benefits," and even alleged plans to "turn Uman into an independent administrative entity." In one of the clips, fake Israeli flags fly over a crowd of Hasidic pilgrims, even though, in reality, Hasidim generally try not to identify with the symbols of the State of Israel. This propaganda campaign, built entirely on fabrications, has become part of Russia's information warfare against Ukraine.

In truth, no "mass resettlement" of foreigners is taking place; this is an annual, short-term religious pilgrimage, after which the Hasidic visitors return to their respective countries. Ukraine has no state programs or financial payouts aimed at encouraging foreign citizens to relocate.

The Ukrainian state's Center for Countering Disinformation analyzed this propaganda campaign and concluded: "The fake videos are being distributed through a network of russian-controlled social media accounts to create the illusion of a 'mass movement' and a 'privileged status' for foreigners. The enemy's main goal is to exploit the heightened attention surrounding this event to destabilize Ukrainian society from within and artificially provoke antisemitic sentiment."

Text: Shimon Briman (Israel).
Collage: Center for Countering Disinformation.

Translated from the Ukrainian by Vasyl Starko.