I was there on the mountain, hours before the revelry and left in the early morning. It was clear to everyone that the outline would collapse, the only question was when. At every stop on the way to the mountain it was possible to understand how frustrated and justifiable the public was. The leadership that had to make decisions – at best disappeared and at worst – made bad decisions that increased the anger and frustration.
This has already started with the early sale of tickets. In just an hour the tickets ran out. The public was furious but understood. Gave the justified credit to the professionals headed by Projector Zviki Tessler. The internal public after the terrible disaster – this year not everyone will be able to come to Meron and participate in the Rashbi celebration.
Hours before the festivities, it was still possible to estimate that the event would end peacefully. The Alps began to flow towards Mount Meron and prepared for the main and only lighting of the Rebbe of Boyan. On the mountain I was surprised.I was exposed to an almost empty mountain celebrated, except for the few Alps in the lighting compound.
A brief check with the director of Meron revealed that there are indeed less than 10,000 celebrants on the mountain. About half the number approved by the projector. But in a joint decision with district commander Shimon Lavi, it was decided to block the mountain for fear that the Alps would flock to the lighting compound. First mistake in a chain of mistakes that will lead to a crash. From that moment on, the regulation parking lots became a long and torturous waiting area.
You do not have to wait for long hours, it is enough to think about waiting for an hour and a half to understand that you need to prepare properly in advance. The public waiting there was humiliated. There is no other definition. The humiliation that began when the ‘refresh’ stopped, which was in fact an unnecessary stop. A huge complex without selling drinks and food. Services for men and women without separation. The products served to the public were dirt and sun. So too in the regulation parking lots, were not conducted properly. The public revolted and felt frustrated. Rightly so.
Then, after an average of about eight hours (at best) of suffering, the public finally reaches Mount Meron, expecting to unload a bit. Music, dancing, atmosphere of revelry. But very quickly the public realizes that they have killed the revelry. The music on the mountain was extinguished. Hai Rotel has disappeared and what was served to him instead is a number of checkpoints with ushers who have not been adapted for the public, along with police officers. Every few tens of meters another checkpoint.
The public suffers another hour of suffering. Then comes the climactic moment: the entrance to the holy Zion of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Every worshiper thinks to himself in these moments ‘What suffering I went through to get to R. Shimon, at least I will have my minute to pray’. But very quickly everyone realizes that what awaits them is a completely different picture.
At the entrance to the mark, of course, another checkpoint. Another wait. Here, at last, the special moment, enters the mark. There they discover a sleeve reminiscent of a track built for milking animals. There is no other definition. Barely a second near the score and already a policeman or usher is forcing you to leave the compound. Leaving the compound, again you discover a desolate mountain. No music, no dance complexes. is nothing. Nine hours of suffering and back to suffering in the bus complexes.
In one moment the public is fed up. The Alps broke through the checkpoints and entered the Zion plaza and in one moment the mountain returned to the atmosphere of revelry. Songs and dances. Joy in honor of Rabbi Shimon. At this moment, the district commander, Shimon Lavi, makes a dramatic and correct decision. All police forces are leaving the Zion compound. Allow the public to unload, prevent violent and useless confrontation. The celebrants soon conquered the Rashbi Zion.
But at the same time a bad decision is made. Most of the buses that were on their way to Meron had to go back. Thousands who have been on the road to R. Shimon for hours have been returned to their homes. Another decision that provoked justified public outrage.
The thousands who broke into the Zion compound are not ‘extreme’, even if it is convenient for Matan Kahana and the police to claim so. The majority of the public was a normative public that was tired of being treated like a beast. However, there were indeed hundreds of extremists who corrupted the infrastructure and behaved with ugly violence towards the police forces. Mirrors that reminded us of the Nablus Gate during Ramadan. Throwing stones and bottles at police forces. And all of course in honor of Rashbi.
In front of them the police used a hard hand. And rightly so. There is no room for violence against police forces, even when there is justified anger, although extremists do not need anger to resist and attack police forces. And let me note to commend the conduct of most of the policemen on the mountain. I wandered for hours in Meron. Without ‘special permit’. A closer look at the conduct of the police. Most as long as the cops responded patiently, they too stand in the sun for long hours, they are the ones who greet the frustrated public and yet during most of the revelry hours – we have not heard of any unusual incidents.
Alongside this, it should be emphasized, we also saw false arrests after the collapse, ostensibly. Those who according to testimony did nothing but were arrested with severe violence. There is no room for that either. In general, the police in this matter seem to have failed. Days before the revelry I heard from Northern District officials who told about the intelligence information, that there are extremists who seek to sabotage infrastructure and destroy the revelry. A few of them were arrested, but most of them managed to enter the mountain, damage the infrastructure and destroy the revelry. What did you do with the intelligence you received?
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This morning, a day after the revelry, there is no doubt that the restriction of participants has not been applied. The state should open as early as next week in preparation for the 5733 celebration. It will take care of the infrastructure on the mountain, so that it will be possible to allow as many people as possible to participate. Hopefully this will also be the case.
And a word about the projector. From the first moment, I thought that the appointment of Zviki Tessler was a professional and worthy appointment. I think so this morning too. He did everything to make the celebration end in peace. Despite countless obstacles along the way, although there were moments that even some of his revelation management partners wanted his failure.
Tessler’s Meron outline was built on the recommendations of the State Commission of Inquiry. No projector would change the outline. The same goes for a minister of religious services. Allow it to be appreciated that even if MK Israel Eichler had been appointed Minister of Religious Affairs – he would have approved an outline prepared on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.
It is easy to stand aside and criticize, it is difficult to make decisions. In general, the ultra-Orthodox politicians escaped all responsibility. Instead of helping Tzviki Tessler and his men in recent months, they chose to boycott. Although Tessler is a professional, not a political man. Moreover, they sharply attacked Meir Porush who only sought to help the public who elected him. So please, dear Knesset members, spare us the press release. Whoever chose to abandon the public who elected him to the Knesset, not to assist the projector in trying to find solutions – even now, he will stay on the sidelines.