Months after completing NIS 1.5 million pathways, state to tear them down

The state will dismantle two walkways built for religious purposes at Mount Meron, only a few months after constructing them at a cost of more than NIS 1.5 million, Haaretz reported on Thursday.

The two pathways were built at the request of some religious factions, and the only reasons listed for why there were needed were based on Jewish law.

One pathway, 300 meters long, was built to allow Kohanim, or members of the Jewish priestly caste, to approach the pilgrimage site — the tomb of the second-century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai —  without stepping on ancient burial graves, which is forbidden to them by Jewish law.

The second, a bridge built for men only, allows them to avoid mingling with women on their way to the site.

According to Haaretz, the permits given for both structures were temporary, and the planning committee had approved them only for use on two days — the day preceding and following the nighttime Lag BaOmer festivities, when hundreds of thousands arrived at the site on the mountain.

The Tourism Ministry, the governmental office in charge of maintaining the holy sites throughout the country, pours some NIS 13 million into the upkeep of such sites.

In 2012 an additional NIS 2 million were spent on the Lag BaOmer festivities on Mount Meron, billed as “safety projects.” The projects included the two walkways and other precautionary measures taken ahead of the holiday.

In a response to Haaretz, the ministry said the paths “were needed to help keep the public order” in the crowded venue. They added that the permits given were temporary, and approved by the police and other authorities.

The police, in turn, said the paths were requested by the organizing committee and “had nothing to do with the conditions set by the police” for the event.