Ahead of the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba’omer, a state inquiry committee decided on Thursday that only one central bonfire will take place at the gravesite complex of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on Mt. Meron, the Knesset announced.
Other communities will hold their bonfire ceremonies at pre-designated times and in designated areas.
Tens of thousands of people from all over Israel are expected to visit Mt. Meron on Lag Ba’omer in the annual pilgrimage designed to honor the teachings of the father of Jewish mysticism.
The holiday, which starts on the 33rd day of the Omer period, marks the end of a period of mourning and is usually marked by the lighting of bonfires, among other festivities.
“We must continue to rehearse all emergency scenarios that could occur in real time,” committee chairman MK Zvika Fogel (Otzma Yehudit) said.
Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Tradition Minister Meir Porush (UTJ) noted that “We must allow the celebrants to mark the event with joy and safety.”
On Thursday, the Knesset’s National Security Committee, led by Fogel, conducted a tour in the Mt. Meron area to inspect the preparedness for the annual tradition.
“Seventy thousand tickets for the Meron event were sold within four hours, and tens of thousands more are being sold constantly—this is the largest event in Israel,” Porush remarked. “All relevant authorities must work together to enable the public to celebrate with joy and security,” he said.
Mt. Meron's tragedy in 2021
The pilgrimage made headlines in 2021, after a stampede killed 45 and wounded 150. Among the dead were at least five minors under the age of 16. Approximately 90,000 had attended the event.
Last year, the event was cancelled due to Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah, as missiles fired by the terrorist organization rained down on Israel's North.
"Despite the great importance of the event and the longstanding tradition to hold it, and in accordance with the updated situation assessments, it is not possible to hold the event the way it has been held in the past, and it is not possible to allow a gathering like this at the site," wrote the commander of Home Front Command, Rafi Milo, in his directives concerning the cancellation of the event at the time.
Milo noted that the hundreds of thousands of participants who usually take part in the event, the location of the site, the Hezbollah attacks that have targeted Mt. Meron during the war, and the lack of proper bomb shelters were reasons for canceling the event.
Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report.