Mount Meron tragedy

Five years after Meron: Dubi Weissenstern on memory, mourning, and meaning

The head of ZAKA reflects on the lessons of the Lag Ba’omer tragedy – and what they reveal about resilience, responsibility, and the challenges facing Israel today

Dubi Weissenstern, CEO of ZAKA, ref!ects on the Meron tragedy.
View of the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on Mount Meron, northern Israel, May 1, 2024.

A responsible choice: Why canceling Lag Ba’omer at Mount Meron was the right call - editorial

 Compound 89 in Meron is seen ahead of next week’s Lag BaOmer celebrations, as police conduct an inspection tour around the tomb complex, April 26, 2026

Five years after disaster, Israel limits Lag Ba'omer celebrations on Meron amid security fears

 The real festivities begin when a huge bonfire is lit at midnight on Lag Ba'omer.

Celebrating Lag Ba’omer, a heroic chapter in Jewish history - opinion


Haredi MK demands full control over Meron disaster probe from Netanyahu

Sources involved in the negotiations say that a final decision on Porush's demands has not been made yet and that it "remains in discussion."

Meir Porush, Minister of Jerusalem and Israel's Traditions, March 27, 2019.

Meron disaster panel sets hearing date for Netanyahu, warned officials

The inquiry has questioned top political officials, all of whom had been holding their breath about whether the inquiry would place the blame on them during an election season.

The bodies of the victims of the tragedy at Mount Meron on Lag Ba'omer.

Can next Israeli gov't cancel, ignore three major state inquiries? - analysis

Amid the focus on the corruption trial of Benjamin Netanyahu, most have forgotten the three state inquiries: The Submarine Affair, Mount Meron tragedy and Gilboa Prison breakout.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu climbs out after a visit inside the Rahav, the fifth submarine in the fleet, after it arrived in Haifa's port

Mount Meron committee issues second interim recommendations

The commission was established in mid-2021 following the death of 45 men and boys on April 30, 2021, in a mass crush on Mount Meron, the site of the tomb of Talmudic sage Shimon Bar Yochai.

 THEN-PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu stands to the right of then-internal security minister Amir Ohana and Police Chief Insp.-Gen. Kobi Shabtai, during their visit to the scene of the tragedy at Mount Meron last year.

14 Days: Schools reopen

Israeli news highlights from the past two weeks.

 Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid meets schoolchildren on the first day of the Israeli school year, September 1, 2022.

45 Israelis were killed at Meron, why is no one accountable? - opinion

When officials see those tactics work, why would they even bother trying to fix the problems that plague Israel? Why would they bother trying to solve some of the decades-old challenges Israel faces?

 THEN-PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu stands to the right of then-internal security minister Amir Ohana and Police Chief Insp.-Gen. Kobi Shabtai, during their visit to the scene of the tragedy at Mount Meron last year.

Meron: Still no accountability more than a year later - editorial

More than a year after 45 families lost loved ones on Mount Meron, there is still nobody able to stand up and say, “I’m sorry, I was partially to blame.”

 View of candles in memory of the 45 lost lives at last year's Mount Meron disaster, during Lag Baomer celebrations, in Meron on May 18, 2022.

Benjamin Netanyahu's election campaign boosted by Meron warning letter - analysis

In the topsy-turvy world of Israeli politics, the warning letter sent by the Meron commission is likely to bolster Netanyahu’s bid to return to the premiership rather than sink it.

 Opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to tesitfy before the Meron Disaster Inquiry Committee, in Jerusalem, on July 21, 2022

Netanyahu, police chief blamed for Meron disaster, receive letters of warning

Warning letters could be the beginning of a legal process against the former prime minister, minister of public security and police chief Shabtai.

 Opposition head Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to tesitfy before the Meron Disaster Inquiry Committee, in Jerusalem, on July 21, 2022

Netanyahu joins the stampede to flee responsibility - opinion

While testifying to the commission investigating the Meron tragedy that crushed 45 people to death, Netanyahu said he couldn't be responsible,

 OPPOSITION LEADER Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to testify in Jerusalem last week before the state commission of inquiry into the Meron disaster.