Israeli rabbi, convicted sex offender, asks Ukraine to lift visa ban

August 30, 2023
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement Tuesday night stressing that he rejects efforts by a member of his cabinet to help convicted sex offender Rabbi Eliezer Berland appeal his ban on entering Ukraine imposed in 2022 for statements he made about Russia’s invasion.
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that he “rejects the request regarding Eliezer Berland’s entry into Ukraine and he clarifies that the Israeli government does not stand behind this request.” Channel 12 News reported on Monday that ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem Affairs Minister Meir Porush was trying to help Berland get permission to reach Uman for the Jewish New Year in mid-September.
Traditionally, thousands of Israelis travel to the city of Uman in Ukraine for the high holiday season to pray and to celebrate at the tomb of Rabbi Nachman of Breslow, who died there in 1810. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine and despite warning by Israeli authorities not to travel there, Breslow Hassidim tried to reach Uman last year, but got stuck at the border. Israeli authorities have been in contact with those in Ukraine and in Moldova to facilitate the pilgrimage to Uman, though the Israeli Foreign Ministry has been advising people not to travel to the region for security reasons.
Over the years, Jewish pilgrimage to Uman has become a delicate issue in Israel’s relations with Ukraine. While the arrival of thousands of tourists to the city brings revenues for the local tourism industry, there have been many complaints about the pilgrims’ behavior, including vandalism and disorderly conduct.
Who is Berland?
Berland, 85 years old, heads the Shuvu Bonim sect and yeshiva, which follows the traditions of the Breslow Hassidim. He and his followers are notorious for misbehavior in both Israel and Ukraine. In 2013, for instance, two of his followers were charged with attacking a former follower who turned against Berland. In 2018, some of his followers entered a synagogue and struck several worshipers. His followers have been charged in Israel and abroad with reckless driving in their convoys. In 2017, his followers destroyed items in an Uman synagogue where Berland was asked not to enter.
Berland himself was convicted of two sexual offenses and of attacking the husband of one of women who filed charges against him. He fled Israel to Morocco when the affair became public. He spent time in South Africa and Zimbabwe before traveling to Holland. Israel submitted an extradition request, but he fled back to South Africa, where he was arrested in Johannesburg in 2016 with the help of Interpol.
Berland was convicted of sexual offenses and money laundering, took a plea deal and served 10 months in prison. Last year Ukraine banned him from its territory for three years in the name of public order and security. Berland recently petitioned a court in Ukraine demanding that it cancel the ban, claiming that the authorities’ decision was made without sufficient evidence.
According to the Times of Israel, Berland’s blacklisting was also related to a statement he made last year, claiming that Ukraine was invaded by Russia in 2022 as punishment for hindering members of his sect from visiting Uman in recent years.
Ukraine awaits official request
Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, told Haaretz on Tuesday that he met a few weeks ago with Poroush and that the Israeli minister brought up Berland. Haaretz quoted the ambassador as saying he could not look into the matter without a formal request: “I didn’t even write down the names because I told him we needed an official request on the matter, and then I could take it up it with our authorities,” said Korniychuk.
On Tuesday, the Magen organization, which provides support for victims of sex abuse in the ultra-Orthodox community, sent a letter to Porush, demanding he stop assisting Berland and apologize to the victims for his past support. “We were shocked by reports revealing that by virtue of your position as a minister [Porush] in the Israeli government, you chose to invest resources and efforts in submitting official requests on behalf of the State of Israel to help the convicted sex offender Eliezer Berland enter Ukraine for the Jewish New Year,” the organization said.