On 30 April 2021, at about 00:50
IDT (
UTC+3
UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours later than the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Following the ISO 8601 standard, a time with this offset would be wri ...
), a deadly
crowd crush
Crowd collapses and crushes are catastrophic incidents that can occur when a body of people becomes dangerously overcrowded. When a body of people reaches or exceeds the density of , the pressure on each individual can cause the crowd to collapse ...
occurred in
Mount Meron
Mount Meron ( he, הַר מֵירוֹן, ''Har Meron''; ar, جبل الجرمق, ''Jabal al-Jarmaq'') is a mountain in the Upper Galilee region of Israel. It has special significance in Jewish religious tradition and parts of it have been decla ...
,
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, during
the annual pilgrimage to the
tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
The tomb of Shimon bar Yochai (), or Kever Rashbi (), on Mount Meron is the traditional burial place of the 2nd century Mishnaic rabbi. A place of pilgrimage since the late 15th century, it is today the second most visited Jewish site in the wor ...
on the Jewish holiday of
Lag BaOmer
Lag BaOmer ( he, , ''LaG Bāʿōmer''), also Lag B'Omer or Lag LaOmer, is a Jewish religious holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar.
According to some Rishonim ...
, at which it was estimated that 100,000 people were in attendance. Forty-five men and boys at the event were killed, and about 150 were injured, dozens of them critically, making it the deadliest civil disaster in the history of the State of Israel.
The crush occurred after celebrants poured out of one section of the mountainside compound, down a passageway with a sloping metal floor wet with spilled drinks, leading to a staircase continuing down. Witnesses say that people tripped and slipped near the top of the stairs. Those behind, unaware of the blockage ahead, continued. The people further down were trampled over, crushed, and
asphyxiated by compression, calling out that they could not breathe.
The potential for such a calamity, given the tens of thousands of celebrants, had been reported by the
state comptroller and the police chief. The local council had tried several times to close the site.
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
cited Israeli media outlets in reporting that, as a precaution against the
COVID-19 pandemic in the country, bonfire areas had been partitioned off, which may have created unrecognised choke-points.
It was later pointed out that the bonfires were not all lit at the same time, as in the past; this allowed people who had seen one lighting go to see another, increasing crowds.
On 10 May 2021, police arrested the safety engineer who approved the Lag BaOmer celebration and his assistant. Investigators said that senior police officers should be questioned, as suspects rather than witnesses. On 27 June, Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Israel
The Supreme Court (, ''Beit HaMishpat HaElyon''; ar, المحكمة العليا) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction.
The Supreme C ...
,
Esther Hayut
Esther Hayut (; born 16 October 1953) is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel. She was sworn in on 26 October 2017, and is expected to serve as Chief Justice until October 2023.
Early life
Esther "Esti" Avni was born in Herzliya, Is ...
, announced that a three-paneled will be chaired by her predecessor, former Supreme Court Chief
Miriam Naor
Miriam Naor ( he, מרים נאור) (26 October 1947 – 24 January 2022) was an Israeli judge who was President of the Supreme Court of Israel from January 2015 to October 2017. Naor retired at the end of October 2017 upon reaching the mandato ...
, with the other two members consisting of former
Bnei Brak
Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...
mayor Rabbi and
Aluf
''Aluf'' ( he, אלוף, lit=champion or "First\leader of a group" in Biblical Hebrew; ) is a senior military rank in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for officers who in other countries would have the rank of general, air marshal, or admiral. ...
(ret.) . In Israel, such a commission of inquiry has the powers to
subpoena
A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
witnesses and issue recommendations to the government.
Background
On the
Lag BaOmer
Lag BaOmer ( he, , ''LaG Bāʿōmer''), also Lag B'Omer or Lag LaOmer, is a Jewish religious holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar.
According to some Rishonim ...
holiday, the tomb of the 2nd-century
Tannaitic
''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים , singular , ''Tanna'' "repeaters", "teachers") were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the ''Tannaim'', also referred to as the Mis ...
rabbi
Shimon bar Yochai
Shimon bar Yochai ( Zoharic Aramaic: שמעון בר יוחאי, ''Shim'on bar Yoḥai'') or Shimon ben Yochai (Mishnaic Hebrew: שמעון בן יוחאי, ''Shim'on ben Yoḥai''), also known by the acronym Rashbi, was a 2nd-century ''tannaiti ...
at
Mount Meron
Mount Meron ( he, הַר מֵירוֹן, ''Har Meron''; ar, جبل الجرمق, ''Jabal al-Jarmaq'') is a mountain in the Upper Galilee region of Israel. It has special significance in Jewish religious tradition and parts of it have been decla ...
becomes a pilgrimage site for thousands of Jews, where they pray, dance and make
bonfire
A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration.
Etymology
The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...
s.
Men and boys attend in sections different from those for women and girls.
''
Haaretz
''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...
'' called it Israel's "biggest religious festival of the year".
In 2020, the country restricted the pilgrimage due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The
Cabinet of Israel
The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the government ...
permitted the 2021 pilgrimage and waived the COVID-19 cap of 1,000 attendees as part of an agreement with
Ministry of Religious Services
The Ministry of Religious Services ( he, המשרד לשירותי דת (''HaMisrad leSherutay Dat'') (formerly Ministry of Religious Affairs and Ministry of Religion) is a government ministry of Israel that handles Jewish religious affairs.
Resp ...
officials which required attendees to be
vaccinated against COVID-19.
The event was the largest to be held in Israel since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
Additionally, for the first time in 13 years, the Mount Meron holiday took place on a Thursday and Friday, the significance being that Thursday night is seen as comparable to Saturday night in other parts of the world, with Friday being Israel's day of rest, as opposed to Sunday. Moreover, since celebrations are not permitted on
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
, the Jewish sabbath, which starts at sunset every Friday, the event was limited to a window of 14 hours, ending at sunset on Friday. Three bonfires were lit at the same time, each by an
Admor
A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritua ...
.
The organisers estimated that approximately 100,000 were at the site—others estimate 50,000—which was larger than the restricted crowd in 2020 but smaller than the hundreds of thousands of people in previous years.
Israeli media reported that, as a precaution against the COVID-19 pandemic, bonfire areas had been partitioned off, which may have created unrecognised choke-points.
[
The crush was not the first time pilgrims at Mount Meron had been killed in an accident. On 15 May 1911, eleven people were killed when a crowd of about 10,000 filled the compound and a railing of a nearby balcony collapsed. About 100 people fell from a height of roughly to the ground below;] the deaths of seven were determined at the scene and those of four others in the days following the incident. There were 40 injured.
Safety warnings
A 2008 evaluation of the site by the State Comptroller of Israel
The State Comptroller of Israel ( he, מבקר המדינה ''Mevaker HaMedina'', ar, مراقب الدولة, literally: ''Critic of State'') inspects, reviews, and audits the policies and operations of the government of the State of Israel. Th ...
concluded that it is not adequate for its number of annual visitors. A 2016 police report warned of issues with infrastructure and crowd control.
In 2011, the state declared it would take control over the site, but control was returned to owners in a court-approved settlement in 2020.
In 2018, a journalist reported that the "exit passageway creates a bottleneck and causes risk of people being crushed" and recommended that a larger exit way be constructed for safety after overcrowding at a funeral in Bnei Brak had led to one death and dozens injured.
A week before the 2021 festival, during the COVID-19 pandemic, government departments limited the gathering to up to 10,000 people on the site, approximately 3,000 at each bonfire. The Israel Fire and Rescue Services
The Israel Fire and Rescue Services (Hebrew: כבאות והצלה לישראל, ''Kaba'ut VeHatzala Le'Israel''; also שירותי כבאות להצלה, ''Sherutei Kaba'ut VeHatzala'') is the national Israeli fire and rescue organization. The ...
required that, for a crowd of 9,000 people, the site needed four different escape routes. According to ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', none of the government agencies took on the task of enforcing the rules,[ and in the event an estimated 100,000 people attended.
In addition to the disastrous crush, the executive director at the National Coronavirus Taskforce expressed concerns about the possible spread of COVID-19 due to the huge, closely-packed crowds at the event. However, many restrictions were lifted in mid-February 2021 after most of the population had been vaccinated, and since then "things have gone amazingly well, even after events with very dense gatherings. ... we have to wait to see what happens".
]
Crush
Four religious groups oversee different parts of the compound, with the Toldot Aharon
Toldos Aharon is a devout, insular, fervently anti-Zionism, anti-Zionist Hasidic Judaism, Hasidic group. The group is characterized by extreme conservatism and a desire to preserve the life of the old Yishuv in Jerusalem, in sharp opposition to Zi ...
running the part where the incident occurred.[ According to witness accounts, the event was held in a fenced area that was overly confining.] At the time, the restricted area was filled with as many as 20,000 people.[ After the lighting ceremony, and as dancing began, hundreds of people left. The exit path was a narrow, steep slope with a smooth metal floor.][ There were no police or rescue services managing the flow into the walkway.][ With nothing to hold onto, the crowd leaned on each other. The path then leads to steps before a narrow tunnel.][ Close to 01:00, some participants began to slip and fall, either on the metal slope or the stone steps,][ and were trampled over and asphyxiated by those behind.] As the crowd moved to the gates, a crush started. The crowd broke open side barriers of the path, creating rigged up exits for some to break free.
According to one witness, security blocked the passageway and kept people from exiting. As people were starting to lose consciousness as the crush prevented them from breathing, police finally opened the gates to allow people through. The crush ensued as a large number of people tried to exit at the same time through the narrow passageway. Other witnesses said the path was slippery from spilled water and juice. Another witness recalled "hundreds of people screaming 'I can't breathe'".
Survivors described being buried under heaps of people and thinking that they were going to die as they could not breathe. Rescue workers spoke of "so many dead people ... on top of each other". Metal handrailings were bent and twisted by the pressure. Emergency personnel tried to perform CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...
on unresponsive victims, then realised that they were spending time on the dead while others were alive, but in danger of death. The first responders themselves were traumatised by the experience; group therapy was arranged to try to ward off PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...
.
As medics were trying to reach the injured, former Israeli Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau
Yisrael Meir Lau ( he, ישראל מאיר לאו; born 1 June 1937) served as the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Israel, and chairman of Yad Vashem. He previously served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1993 to 2003.
Biography
Early life ...
remained on stage, urging calm and reciting psalms for the injured. Three hundred rescue buses were prevented from entering the site due to blocked access roads. Six helicopters were flown in to evacuate the injured. Cell phone service crashed due to the number of people trying to get in contact with their families.
Victims
In the crush, 45 people were killed and about 150 more were injured. The dead included six Americans
Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...
, two Canadians
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
, an Argentine
Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
and a Briton
British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...
, and ranged in age from 13 to 65 years old.
The Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir completed the identification of all 45 victims by 2 May 2021.
Investigation
Following an initial investigation, the Israeli police said the crush was not preventable and that the location was being inspected for structural flaws, but the scenario of people slipping on stairs was out of police control. Police commander of the Northern district, Shimon Lavi, said however, that he "bears full responsibility". The police released a statement that the passage had been authorized by all the relevant authorities and that they had understood the event would be abnormally large. This was disputed by Mordechai Halperin Mordechai Halperin is an Israeli rabbi, physician and scientist. He is chief officer of medical ethics for the Israeli Ministry of Health and director of the Falk Schlesinger Institute for Medical-Halachic Research in Jerusalem.
Halperin is also a ...
, ex-mayor of moshav Meron, the local authority in which the site is located, who said that the passage which narrowed an escape route was constructed without any building permits and against his strenuous objections. Many commentators also suggested the Haredi
Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
community's extensive autonomy in Israel was a major contributing factor to the catastrophe.
On 3 May, State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman
Matanyahu Englman ( he, מתניהו אנגלמן; b. June 8, 1966) is the State Comptroller and Ombudsman of the State of Israel.He is also the first Vice-President of EUROSAI, the European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. He is sla ...
announced an audit of the events leading to the disaster, which would also recommend policy for future mass events. No decision was made on whether to set up a state commission of inquiry at that time. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
promised a thorough state investigation, but did not specify any details.
On 10 May, the police arrested the safety engineer who had approved the Lag Ba'omer celebration and his assistant. Investigators also said that senior police officers should be questioned as suspects rather than witnesses. From the investigation at that time, it appeared that the main reason for the crowding and pressure at the Toldot Aharon
Toldos Aharon is a devout, insular, fervently anti-Zionism, anti-Zionist Hasidic Judaism, Hasidic group. The group is characterized by extreme conservatism and a desire to preserve the life of the old Yishuv in Jerusalem, in sharp opposition to Zi ...
bonfire compound, outside which the disaster occurred, was that police permitted the Hasidic court to hold its bonfire at a different time than the other bonfires at the compound. As a result, the crowd was not dispersed among several bonfires as was usual, but instead, additional thousands crowded in to see the Toldot Aharon bonfire. No police were stationed at the compound's exit; police only arrived 10 minutes after the crowd had pushed through the exit to the nearby walkway, causing the crush. At this stage charges of causing death by negligence were considered more appropriate than the more serious charge of causing death by taking an irresponsible risk.
Commission of Enquiry
The newly elected government, which was installed on 13 June, and led by Naftali Bennett
Naftali Bennett ( he, נַפְתָּלִי בֶּנֶט, Transliterated: , ; born 25 March 1972) is an Israeli politician who served as the 13th prime minister of Israel from 13 June 2021 to 30 June 2022, and as the 3rd Alternate Prime Minist ...
as the initial Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
, committed to establishing a state commission of enquiry into the disaster.
On 27 June, the cabinet approved the appointment of a three-member commission led by former chief justice Miriam Naor
Miriam Naor ( he, מרים נאור) (26 October 1947 – 24 January 2022) was an Israeli judge who was President of the Supreme Court of Israel from January 2015 to October 2017. Naor retired at the end of October 2017 upon reaching the mandato ...
to investigate the disaster. The other two members of the commission are former Bnei Brak
Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...
mayor Rabbi Mordechai Karelitz and former Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
planning chief Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
(res.) Shlomo Yanai. Current Chief Justice Esther Hayut
Esther Hayut (; born 16 October 1953) is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel. She was sworn in on 26 October 2017, and is expected to serve as Chief Justice until October 2023.
Early life
Esther "Esti" Avni was born in Herzliya, Is ...
appointed the members.
The commission was allocated a budget of NIS
Nis, Niš, NiS or NIS may refer to:
Places
* Niš, a city in Serbia
* Nis, Iran, a village
* Ness, Lewis ( gd, Nis, links=no), a village in the Outer Hebrides islands
Businesses and organizations
* Naftna Industrija Srbije, Petroleum Industry o ...
6 million (US$1.83 million) and given a broad mandate, tasked with conducting a detailed probe of the disaster and recommending specific changes to the holy site at Meron, and collaborating with the attorney general and other ongoing parallel investigations into how the disaster unfolded and the decision-making processes of government and police officials that authorized the event.
These are reported to include the former public security minister Amir Ohana
Amir Ohana ( he, אָמִיר אוֹחָנָה, born 15 March 1976) is an Israeli lawyer, former Shin Bet official and politician who currently serves a member of the Knesset for Likud. He previously held the posts of Minister of Justice and Mi ...
, former interior minister
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
Aryeh Deri, and former housing minister A Housing minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for Housing Policy.
Country-related articles and lists
* Australia: Minister for Housing
** Victoria: Minister for Housing
** Western Australia: Minister for ...
Yaakov Litzman
Yaakov Noach Litzman ( he, יַעֲקֹב נָח לִיצְמָן , born 2 September 1948) is an Israeli politician and former government minister. A follower of the Ger Hasidic dynasty, he heads Agudat Yisrael, part of the United Torah Judais ...
, who were in office at the time of the incident, and Israel Police
The Israel Police ( he, משטרת ישראל, ''Mišteret Yisra'el''; ar, شرطة إسرائيل, ''Shurtat Isrāʼīl'') is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fightin ...
Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai and Northern District Police Chief Shimon Lavi.[
]
Aftermath
The crush was the deadliest civilian disaster in the history of the State of Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, surpassing the 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire which killed 44. Netanyahu called it a "great tragedy" and said that everyone was praying for the victims. He also declared 2 May 2021 a national day of mourning. Several cultural activities were cancelled. President Reuven Rivlin
Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin ( he, רְאוּבֵן "רוּבִי" רִיבְלִין ; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the tenth president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. Riv ...
offered his condolences to the victims.
Condolences were issued also by officials from many authorities, including several Arab governments (including Palestinian President
The president of the State of Palestine is the head of state of Palestine. Yasser Arafat became the first titular president of the State of Palestine in 1989, one year after proclamation of independence. The title was originally titular, in par ...
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Natio ...
), the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Israel's Administration of Border Crossings, Population and Immigration declared that a "fast route" to enter Israel had been defined to allow families of the injured and deceased to enter Israel.
Residents of the non-Jewish settlements of Beit Jan, Jish
Jish ( ar, الجش; he, גִ'שׁ, גּוּשׁ חָלָב, Jish, Gush Halav) is a local council in Upper Galilee, located on the northeastern slopes of Mount Meron, north of Safed, in Israel's Northern District. In it had a population of , w ...
, Peki'in
Peki'in (alternatively Peqi'in) ( he, פְּקִיעִין) or Buqei'a ( ar, البقيعة), is a Druze in Israel , Druze–Arab citizens of Israel, Arab town with Local council (Israel), local council status in Israel's Northern District (Is ...
, Tamra
Tamra ( ar, طمرة, he, טַמְרָה or ) is an Arab city in the North District of Israel located in the Lower Galilee north of the city of Shefa-Amr and approximately east of Acre. In it had a population of .
History
Tamra is an ancient ...
, and Yarka
Yarka, officially Yirka ( he, יִרְכָּא, ar, يركا), is an Israeli Druze village and local council in the Northern District of Israel. In 2019 it had a population of 17,171, 98.8% of them members of the Druze community, with a small M ...
arranged programs supplying aid to the survivors. Numerous Israeli Arabs
The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...
offered condolences as a symbolic gesture.
On 3 May 2021, the Israeli Authority For Sacred Locations had been given a decree requiring a permit from the Israeli police commissioner to hold any celebration. Prior to the decree only a permit from the regional police chief was required.
In September 2021, Toldos Aharon
Toldos Aharon is a devout, insular, fervently anti-Zionist Hasidic group. The group is characterized by extreme conservatism and a desire to preserve the life of the old Yishuv in Jerusalem, in sharp opposition to Zionism, in a strict Haredi way ...
announced that their annual Simchat Beit HaShoeivah
Simchat Beit Hashoevah or Simchas Beis Hashoeiva ( he, שמחת בית השואבה, lit. ''"Rejoicing of the Water-Drawing House"'') is a special celebration held by Jews during the Intermediate days of Sukkot.
Origin
When the Temple in Jeru ...
, which normally attracts thousands of visitors, would be closed to the public to avoid overcrowding.
As a result of the stampede, the pilgrimage on Lag Ba'omer has undergone drastic changes beginning in 2022, including a limit on visitors at once, a maximum of 4 hours per person, and a requirement to buy tickets beforehand. A heavy military and police presence was also required by law.
See also
* 2021 in Israel
* List of fatal crowd crushes
This is a list of notable crowd collapses and crushes. Many such accidents are also in the list of accidents and disasters by death toll. (The term "stampede" is often misused in popular media since it refers specifically to panicked flight from ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meron
2021 disasters in Israel
2021 in Israel
April 2021 events in Asia
Articles containing video clips
Disasters in religious buildings and structures
Crowd collapses and crushes
Human stampedes in Asia
Lag BaOmer
Man-made disasters in Israel
Merom HaGalil Regional Council
Human stampedes in 2021