Yonatan traveled to Uman for Rosh Hashanah - and was detained at the border crossing to be drafted into the Ukrainian army

Yonatan Karlinsky, a 49-year-old Israeli born in Ukraine, was detained at the Orlivka-Isaccea border crossing on his way back from Uman after Rosh Hashanah. Border officials identified him as a Ukrainian citizen and removed him from the bus. Contact has been lost since then, and it was reported that he was transferred to Odessa for conscription into the Ukrainian army. His wife Odell contacted the Foreign Ministry and is requesting urgent assistance.

Yonatan Karlinsky, 49, from Jerusalem, a baal teshuva, married and a father, traveled to Uman for Rosh Hashanah along with tens of thousands of Breslov Hasidim. He was born in Ukraine and immigrated to Israel about 14 years ago. On Wednesday afternoon, on his way back, he was detained at the Orlivka-Isaccea border crossing connecting southern Ukraine to Romania. He was traveling on a bus of the company "Derech Tzadikim" with an Israeli passport. According to a friend who was with him, border officials identified him as a Ukrainian citizen after hearing him speak Ukrainian. They removed him from the bus and contact has been lost since. He managed to send an email reporting the incident. Nathan, a friend from Jerusalem, said Yonatan was transferred to Odessa for conscription into the Ukrainian army. His wife Odell told Walla that she is very distraught, and that her husband is being held at a military base near Odessa in the process of enlistment. According to her, they do not release people from the army until age 60. She is in contact with the Foreign Ministry, but was told the arrest is legal under Ukrainian law. She emphasizes that he has lived in Israel for over 14 years, is Jewish and an Israeli citizen, and requests urgent assistance to bring him home. The Foreign Ministry has not yet provided a response.