Thousands of Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jews have vowed to brave the dangers of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and make a pilgrimage there during the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.

Among those who said they would not be deterred by the war or government travel warnings and would travel to the Ukrainian city of Uman was Avraham Burstein, 51, a musician and actor.

“It’s like being in love, I just have to go,” he said while tuning his accordion at his Yiddish music school in Jerusalem.

Burstein has traveled to Uman, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Kyiv, every year since 1989, missing the pilgrimage only once, in 2020, when the Covid pandemic halted international travel.

That year he was still trying to enter Ukraine and “tried from eight different countries,” he chuckled, insisting he would make it to Uman this year for the holiday, which begins September 25.

Most travelers, like Burstein, are members of the Breslov branch of Haredi Judaism, staunch followers of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, in modern-day Ukraine, who died in 1810.

Nachman was the founder of an ultra-Orthodox movement that settled in Uman in the early 19th century. Before his death, he asked his followers to visit his grave to celebrate Jewish holidays.

“It would be nice for us if he was buried in London, or in Amsterdam, even in Berlin,” Burstein said. “But he chose to be there and he asked us to come for Rosh Hashanah every year, so we have to go.”

The pilgrimage was severely suppressed during the Soviet Union era, and it was only after its collapse in 1991 that annual visits began to climb into the tens of thousands.

“All my life, growing up, I prayed to God, Please let me go to Rabbi Nachman’s grave just once,” Burstein said.

“It was so difficult” because of the strict Soviet entry restrictions, he said. “North Korea was easier to get to. It was like the moon.”

Although he said he hasn’t booked his ticket yet, Burstein planned to travel with his two sons later this week.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid this month urged citizens to avoid Uman, warning of a “life-threatening danger,” and the Ukrainian embassy in Israel issued a similar warning last week.

Uman was badly hit by Russian missiles in the first weeks of the war, and just last month a civilian was killed by a Russian missile in the district, according to a statement by a regional official, Ihor Taburets, published by the Telegram news service.

Burstein said he could “understand that the Prime Minister and the President are asking us not to go – they are responsible for keeping people safe”.

But he argued that given the frequent security incidents in his home country, “if you’re from Israel, you don’t have to worry about the danger.”

Direct flights to Kyiv have been canceled since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, but thousands of pilgrims have already made their way.

A Haredi travel agency in Jerusalem, which asked not to be named for fear of reprimands in the community, said flights to countries bordering Ukraine were largely sold out for the rest of the month.

Flights to Moldova and Romania were packed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv last week with Breslov-Haredim bound for Uman.

“Why should we worry? When you believe in God, you are not afraid of anything,” Avraham Elbaz told AFP as he checked in for his flight to Moldova’s capital, Chisinau.

In September 2020, thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews were trapped between the borders of Belarus and Ukraine for days after Kyiv refused them entry due to the Covid pandemic.

Before the pandemic, more than 50,000 pilgrims traveled annually during Rosh Hashanah, said Gilad Malach, director of the Ultra-Orthodox program in Israel at the Israel Democracy Institute think-tank.

He estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 pilgrims would make the journey this year.

“When there are restrictions, the majority understand the reasons not to go, whether it’s Covid-19 or the war,” Malach told AFP.

“But for the hardcore Hasidim, it’s one of the basic obligations that they have,” he added, saying their belief is that “one should do whatever it takes to get there.”

“The more it is forbidden or harsh, the more one is valued as a follower if one manages to overcome the obstacles and visit the grave.”

For Burstein, the war only increased the importance of the journey.

“We hope that through our prayers there we can bring peace to the world,” he said.