Mount Meron

Police disperse hundreds of civilians from Mount Meron attempting to light fires for Lag Ba'omer

"We clarify that, given the security situation and the Home Front Command's instructions, staying in the mountain area without a permit constitutes a danger to the public," said the police.

View of the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on Mount Meron, northern Israel, May 1, 2024.
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

Jewish worshippers visit the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi) in Meron, northern Israel, ahead of the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer, May 1, 2026.

Religious protesters plan to storm Mount Meron in defiance of police orders ahead of Lag Ba'omer

 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


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.

Israel Police already looking to life after chief Kobi Shabtai

The police commissioner's tenure has been marred by controversy and disaster, and he is only halfway through.

 Chief of police Kobi Shabtai  tesitfies before the Meron Disaster Inquiry Committee, in Jerusalem, on April 11, 2022.

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.

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.

 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.

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