JERUSALEM (VINnews) — As preparations intensify for the annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage to Uman, Ukraine, reports have emerged of an alleged proposal aimed at helping thousands of Breslov-affiliated draft evaders leave the country despite court-issued exit bans. However, sources familiar with the matter say the plan is unlikely to succeed and could expose participants to serious legal consequences.

According to reports, activists and senior rabbis affiliated with the Breslov organization Ezra VeYe’utz (“Help and Advice”) recently held what they described as an emergency meeting with community activist Rabbi Shimon Shisha to discuss possible ways of enabling draft evaders to travel to Uman.

Army Radio correspondent Mordechai Halperin reported that one proposal discussed involved draft evaders presenting themselves at IDF recruitment offices to begin the enlistment process, including appearing for an initial draft order. According to the report, they would create the impression that they intended to enlist, with the goal of persuading authorities to lift the orders preventing them from leaving Israel. The plan allegedly called for participants to travel to Uman and then discontinue the enlistment process rather than complete their military service.

Rabbi Moshe Kramer, one of the senior rabbis in the Breslov movement, acknowledged the obstacles facing this year’s pilgrimage, saying: “Every year they try to prevent the Hasidim from traveling to Uman, and every year we succeed, one way or another, in reaching Uman. This year, too, there are major obstacles, but this year as well, we will succeed.”

Despite the reported proposal, sources familiar with the discussions said there are significant practical and legal barriers to implementing such a strategy. They noted that a similar idea was raised last year but was rejected by most Breslov rabbis, who warned that it could create severe complications for young participants.

According to those sources, draft evaders who report to a recruitment office are not automatically entitled to have their exit bans lifted. Instead, they may first be required to serve penalties for draft evasion and could be detained or arrested. As a result, rather than boarding flights to Uman for Rosh Hashanah, participants could find themselves in military detention or beginning basic training.

The sources added that the strategy could potentially apply only to individuals who have not yet been formally declared draft evaders or classified as having failed to report for military service. Even in those cases, however, they cautioned that initiating the enlistment process without completing it could leave participants facing significant legal repercussions upon their return to Israel.

The reports have not been independently verified, and neither the Israel Defense Forces nor representatives of the Breslov community have publicly responded to the specific allegations. The reported discussions come amid heightened enforcement efforts against charedi men who fail to report for military service and continuing legal disputes over the status of charedi yeshiva students.