In a significant development regarding the Lag BaOmer celebration at Meron, the Home Front Command is expected to approve a phased plan that will allow thousands of mispallelim to visit Meron on Lag B’Omer this year.
The plan follows Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decision to limit the event to just 1,500 participants due to security concerns over potential rocket or drone fire by Hezbollah toward Meron during the event.
However, following the decision, the Emes L’Yaakov B’Yisrael organization submitted an appeal to the High Court, which granted an extension to the state and ordered the organization to appeal directly to the security bodies. The organization then submitted a proposal to the Minister of National Security, the Minister of Religious Affairs, the Inspector General of the Israel Police, and the commander of the Home Front Command.
The organization’s plan called for Har Meron to be divided into eight to ten separate areas, each with a limit of up to 1,500 people at a time, along with rotation cycles of 45 to 60 minutes. The plan would allow tens of thousands of mispallelim to visit Meron on Lag B’Omer while maintaining maximum safety.
In addition, the organization demanded that the government and the Home Front Command urgently place mobile shelters in each complex, and include all existing protected spaces in buildings throughout Har Meron in the calculation of the permitted number of mispalleilim.
The organization strongly criticized the restrictions imposed on visiting Har Meron, while noting apparent discrimination: “It is inconceivable that Yom Ha’atzmaut events and mass ceremonies were approved in the northern region and the rest of the country under similar protection conditions, while the religious and Chareidi public seeking to reach Meron is subject to a decree that the public cannot withstand,” a statement said. The organization added that if the discrimination is not corrected, it will be brought before the High Court.
Attorney Natan Rosenblatt, the petitioners’ representative, clarified that the extension granted to the state by the court “is not an open check to ignore the needs of the public,” and demanded a substantive response to the proposed plan by Wednesday at noon. In the absence of a satisfactory response, Rosenblatt announced, he will file an urgent petition for an interim order directing a change to the current plan “to prevent irreparable harm to the rights of the public.”
According to several reports early Tuesday afternoon by Chareidi media outlets, the Home Front Command has reviewed the plan, finalized the details, and is expected to approve it later on Tuesday.
The plan was formulated in a meeting held on Tuesday morning with all relevant professional bodies and has received the support of the police and operational authorities.
According to the emerging plan, the celebration will take place in a controlled, phased format that will allow tens of thousands of people to visit the site on Lag B’Omer. Har Meron will be divided into three separate zones, with 1,500 mispallelim allowed at each zone at any given time, meaning a maximum of 4,500 people on Har Meron simultaneously.
The celebration will span 40 continuous hours, significantly increasing the total number of participants within the limits. Each group’s stay will be restricted to a set time in order to allow for high turnover of visitors.
The mountain itself will serve as the first compound, the Bnei Akiva area as the second, and Compound 89 as the third.
Tickets will be distributed through a public lottery among registrants and will be managed by the Ministry of Transportation.
The Home Front Command is inclined to approve the phased plan, as it addresses concerns of overcrowding and panic during an alarm by utilizing designated safe zones. A final decision is expected in the coming hours, and the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, together with the event coordinator, are already preparing for the rapid implementation of the lottery system and the logistics required to transport visitors.
Security officials stress that the plan’s implementation is contingent on the absence of significant escalation along the northern border in the coming days.
Netanyahu made a decision to cancel the celebration after he was presented with a severe threat assessment at a security meeting last week. The chief of the Home Front Command stated that “even if only a few thousand people are on the mountain, if a rocket or drone is launched, it could be a disaster.” A security source added that “it could result in more than a hundred fatalities, chalilah.”
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
