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

|ByALAN ROSENBAUM, IN COLLABORATION WITH ZAKA
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

The fires of Lag Ba’omer will burn again on the slopes of Meron. What matters is that when they do, they come back to a country that chose, at the right moment, to be careful.

|ByJPOST 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

News guidelines were announced on Sunday night that only up to 1,500 people would be permitted to gather in the communities in the vicinity of Mount Meron: Safsofa, Or HaGanuz, Bar Yochai, and Meron.

|ByMICHAEL STARR
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

During Bar Kochba’s revolt against the Romans, a terrible epidemic struck Rabbi Akiva’s students, and 24,000 men lost their lives. The epidemic suddenly stopped on Lag Ba’omer.

|ByDVORA WAYSMAN

Letters to the Editor, July 25, 2022: Flag removal not trivial

Readers of The Jerusalem Post have their say.

JULY 24, 2022ByLETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters

Swimming pool sinkhole: Safety is not a luxury - editorial

Being responsible is doing your best to ensure disasters don’t happen. Did that happen in Meron, Nahal Tzafit or at the pool in Karmei Yosef?

JULY 24, 2022ByJPOST EDITORIAL
Sinkhole under a pool in Karmei Yosef, July 21, 2022.

Israel must take the Abraham Accords to the Palestinians - opinion

The Abraham Accords have changed the region, but their full potential has yet to be realized, not just with the Gulf but also with the Palestinians.

JULY 21, 2022ByYAAKOV KATZ
WORKERS HANG large Palestinian and Israeli flags in Ramat Gan, in June.

'He didn't know?' Netanyahu slammed for testimony on Meron disaster

In their remarks, coalition members slammed Netanyahu for refusing to take responsibility for a disaster that claimed the lives of 45 people.

JULY 21, 2022ByROMAN MEITAV
MEMORIALIZING THE 45 victims killed in the Meron stampede, at Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square on May 2

Netanyahu on Meron tragedy: I cannot be responsible for what I did not know

After his testimony, the committee will summarize the materials in its possession and publish warning letters to those deemed responsible for the disaster.

JULY 21, 2022ByROMAN MEITAV
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits at the scene on Mt. Meron, in northern Israel on April 30, 2021.

Northern District Police Commander and Meron witness Shimon Lavi quits - report

Shortly after the Meron tragedy, Lavi became the first to speak about what had occurred and said that he was willing to take responsibility for the tragedy.

JULY 18, 2022ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Commander of the Northern District Police Superintendent Shimon Lavi, the first witness of the Meron committee on August 22.

Ex-NSC chief Ben Shabbat: Our oversight of Mt. Meron disaster ‘minimal’

The commission of inquiry is looking into top officials who had a potential wide view of problems leading to the disaster which killed 45 people.

JULY 10, 2022ByYONAH JEREMY BOB
Former National Security Council head Meir Ben-Shabbat arrives to tesitfy before the Meron Disaster Inquiry Committee, in Jerusalem, on July 10, 2022.

Mount Meron inquiry: Deri shirks responsibility, 'I had no authority'

Former interior minister Arye Deri maintained that he was never aware of or had any authority over the safety of the structures themselves on the site.

JUNE 2, 2022ByYONAH JEREMY BOB
Former Israeli MK Aryeh Deri arrives to tesitfy before the Meron Disaster Inquiry Committee, in Jerusalem, on June 2, 2022.

Lag Ba'omer 2022: Jews celebrate across Israel - in pictures

Here is how Jews across Israel celebrated Lag Ba'omer this year.

MAY 18, 2022ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Ultra orthodox Jews celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba'omer, in ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim, in Jerusalem, on May 18, 2022.

Lag Ba'omer: Celebrations resume at Meron, one year after deadly tragedy - watch

One year after the disaster at Meron killed 45 people, police have set up new protocols for this year's celebrations.

MAY 18, 2022ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Grand Rabbi of Boyan (Hasidic dynasty) lights 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.