The Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, Matan Kahana, admits the failure of the Rashbi celebration at Atra Kadisha Meron.
“At Meron’s celebration this year, we had two goals,” Kahana began. “The first and most important goal was zero deaths and serious and moderate injuries, and the second goal – a positive experience for everyone who comes to the party.”
“In the first goal of zero casualties, to my great joy, we stood. In the second goal of a positive experience for those who come, it is clear unfortunately we did not stand, and the end result was not good, when you can say that until Thursday at two o’clock in the afternoon we were reasonable minus, and from this hour we could not continue. “To meet the outline we planned. This is the end result, and it is impossible to escape it.”
“I want to offer you the following thing, Member of Knesset Porush,” the minister closed. “In the end we are now going to an investigation in the office of all the bodies that were in some of these preparations. I mean it will be a very, very in-depth investigation of all the planning, of the outline, of the execution, of everything.”
Before that, Porush presented the proposal and said that “whoever knew he was going to stop buses on the way, did not have to worry about conditions in these parking lots? Elemental and human conditions. After all, the location of these parking lots, in remote places not at gas stations or central locations “Elementary things like lighting at night, shading during the day, drinks and food, toilets. After all, leave them for a good few hours.”
“Those who know what Meron is, there are the main lighting, there are people who come to pray near Zion, there are those who come to do halakah for their children, there are those who come to be with their rebbe and rabbis at events they hold, there are those who come to dance. “In other words, there are many complexes that could have been opened on the mountain and within the boundaries of Moshav Meron and regulated by the general public, but we were refused any request we made.”
“Who authorized the police to destroy and uproot us from the celebration of 200,000 people who come every year to celebrate Lag B’Omer? “It is possible that the minister will come here and deny the numbers, or the facts, but it is clear to everyone that thousands were stuck in the parking lots, thousands could not enter Meron, tens of thousands could not buy tickets.”