About ten months since the tragic event: The outline of assistance to the families of the 45 victims of the Meron disaster was approved today (Sunday) by the government. As part of the outline, each family will be offered initial assistance in the amount of about half a million shekels. To the extent that legal proceedings take place, these amounts will be deducted from the amounts compensated by the families, when determining who will be the compensating party.
The announcement regarding the summary of the outline was made already over the weekend, by the Minister of Finance Avigdor Lieberman And the Minister of Justice Gideon Saar. With the publication of the outline, the initiator of the Compensation for Families of the Victims of Meron Disaster Law, MK Jacob Asher Welcomed the decision, adding: “Better late than never, it is the duty of the state to families who are entitled to receive the compensation by law and not by grace.”
Opposition members shouted “Lech” at Prime Minister Naftali Bennett after he voted against the Meron disaster relief bill. Photo: Knesset channel
Israel Diskind, the brother of Simcha Bunim Diskind who was killed in the disaster, responded: “For a moment I do not forget that the families of those killed are not part of the current government’s electorate. “And the widows, putting all political considerations aside, and sincere concern for the families whose world was destroyed overnight, aspired to.”
Also, about two weeks ago, about a thousand of the participants in the celebration in which the disaster occurred, filed a class action lawsuit for a total of about NIS 50 million against the National Center for the Development of Holy Places. According to the plaintiffs, who are represented by attorneys David Mana and Shmuel Cohen, “the defendant failed completely to fulfill its role of arranging the tomb complex of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on Mount Meron for the benefit of its arrangement for receiving visitors.”
According to the plaintiffs, they paid and are paying a heavy price for the disaster and will bear the scars for the rest of their lives. According to them, the center for the development of the holy places had to “prevent the celebration of the celebration in the format in which it took place.”
It will be recalled that the committee investigating the events of the disaster in Meron continues to convene, with the last to testify being former police commissioner Roni Alshikh. : “Where is your cry as a commissioner, as a citizen?”.