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Lag B'Omer

A bonfire is lit as members of the Hasidic Jewish community in Stamford Hill, north London, celebrate the Lag B'Omer festival, Britain, May 5, 2026. (REUTERS/Toby Shepheard)
May 6, 2026, 5:01 pm
London Jews celebrate Lag B’Omer amid fear and uncertainty over spate of attacks
Flanked by clearly marked police officers, thousands of ultra-Orthodox Londoners mark festival with bonfires, vowing to stay ‘strong together in the most challenging times’
By Reuters and ToI Staff
Ultra-Orthodox men attend Lag B'Omer celebrations on Mount Meron, northern Israel, on May 4, 2026. (David Cohen/Flash90)
May 5, 2026, 2:30 am
Haredi masses breach Meron, flouting wartime Lag B’Omer restrictions
Police deny reports that thousands reached Galilee shrine illegally, even as revelers recount bypassing restrictions with ease; Ben Gvir lauds cops for working ‘very gently’
By Charlie Summers and ToI Staff
Jewish worshipers seen at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron, northern Israel, after Lag B'Omer celebrations were canceled, May 3, 2026. (David Cohen/Flash90)
May 4, 2026, 5:39 am
Police brace for unrest at Meron pilgrimage site after drastic cutbacks to Lag B’Omer revelry
Amid war-related security concerns, cops block roads, but don’t vacate thousands already at northern shrine; unknown group tells Haredim to arm themselves with pepper spray, tasers; alternate bonfire lightings planned in Jerusalem
By Charlie Summers
A 16th-century prayer book based on the teachings of Rabbi Isaac Luria, on display for the first time at ANU, Museum of the Jewish People, for Lag B'Omer, beginning May 3, 2026 (Itzik Biran)
May 3, 2026, 6:35 pm
Rare mystical prayer book unveiled at ANU museum in Tel Aviv
16th century siddur, handwritten and based on Rabbi Isaac Luria’s kabbalistic teachings, to be exhibited starting on Lag B’Omer
By Jessica Steinberg
Police officers guard a checkpoint near Meron, northern Israel, after the Lag B'Omer celebrations were canceled and the area was declared a closed military zone, May 3, 2026. (David Cohen/Flash90)
May 3, 2026, 4:03 pm
Police block roads around Meron ahead of Lag B’Omer as pilgrimage canceled
Amid confusion over wartime restrictions on annual event, access to holy site blocked entirely, with police warning of ‘zero tolerance’ for violent resistance to guidelines
By ToI Staff
The crowd during Lag B'Omer celebrations on Mount Meron, May 15, 2025. (David Cohen/Flash90)
April 27, 2026, 5:54 am
Israel restores some restrictions in north amid Hezbollah fire, nixes major pilgrimage
After 9 days without restrictions nationwide, Home Front Command caps gatherings in Lebanon border towns at 1,500; PM orders Lag B’Omer festivities at Meron held in ‘symbolic’ fashion
By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok Grand Rabbi and his followers light a bonfire during Lag Baomer celebrations, in Meron, on May 15, 2025. (David Cohen/Flash90)
May 16, 2025, 2:36 pm
Tens of thousands celebrate Lag B’Omer at Meron, year after site closed amid rocket fire
Revelers defy firefighters trying to extinguish unlawful bonfires as festivities bounce back after wartime closure; sex offender rabbi lights bonfire; some passageways overcrowded
By Charlie Summers
Four rare Bar Kochba Revolt-era coins found in the Judean Desert, in an undated photo. (Oriya Amichai/Israel Antiquities Authority)
May 16, 2025, 5:29 am
Who really led the Bar Kochba revolt? New research sheds light on rebellion’s enigmas
Recent paper suggests Jewish veterans from the Roman army may have initially led the 2nd-century Jewish war against the Romans, one of the events connected with Lag B’Omer
By Rossella Tercatin
Haredi Jews celebrate Lag B'Omer at Mount Meron on May 8, 2023. (David Cohen/ Flash90)
May 15, 2025, 1:51 pm
Major transit shakeups, closures enforced ahead of Lag B’Omer pilgrimage to Mount Meron
Police said set to allow 63,000 celebrants at a time for Thursday’s event at the site, where 45 died in 2021 crowd crush
By Charlie Summers
FILE: Israelis and tourists enjoy the beach in Tel Aviv, as a heatwave hits the country, July 17, 2023. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
May 13, 2025, 5:15 pm
Massive heat wave to hit Israel this weekend, meteorological service warns
Forecasts predict highs of 46.5°C (115°F) in Eilat, 37°C (99°F) in Tel Aviv, 38°C (101°F) in Jerusalem on Saturday, which could break 25-year records for May
By ToI Staff
A burnt-out fire engine that went up in flames during massive wildfires in central Israel on April 30, 2025, seen on May 4, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)
May 8, 2025, 5:50 pm
Ahead of Lag B’Omer, comptroller warns PM that recent fires ‘must be a wake-up call’
Matanyahu Englman tells Netanyahu that major blazes outside Jerusalem ‘could have claimed dozens of lives,’ and underfunded Fire Service ‘cannot contend with the challenge alone’
By ToI Staff
Police push back ultra-Orthodox men who tried to enter the Tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai on the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer, at Mount Meron, May 26, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90)
May 27, 2024, 2:22 am
Police clash with ultra-Orthodox pilgrims at closed-off holy site in Mount Meron
Video shared by police shows worshipers throwing chairs and crates at cops; Border Police officer removed from duty after being filmed throwing elderly man to the ground
By ToI Staff
Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef speaks as ultra-Orthodox Jewish men celebrate the holiday of Lag B'Omer in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem on May 25, 2024. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
May 26, 2024, 7:00 am
Barred from Meron, Jewish worshipers mark Lag B’Omer at flashpoint East Jerusalem site
Thousands crowd into venue outside Shimon HaTzadik tomb as police lock down tense Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood; Sephardi chief rabbi lights fire, speaks before enthused audience
By Charlie Summers
Haredi Jews watch preperations for the Lag B'Omer festivities at the Shimon HaTzadik tomb in Jerusalem on May 22, 2024. (Photo by Arie Leib Abrams/FLASH90)
May 25, 2024, 8:12 am
Fearing Hezbollah in north, state moves Lag B’Omer event to East Jerusalem flashpoint
With Mt. Meron in the Galilee closed due to missile fears, 30,000 pilgrims are expected to stream into the Shimon HaTzadik tomb in Sheikh Jarrah on Saturday night and Sunday
By Canaan Lidor
Smoke rises after rockets fired from Lebanon hit an open area in Mount Meron, northern Israel, May 15, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90)
May 22, 2024, 1:38 pm
Authorities close Mount Meron ahead of Lag B’Omer over Hezbollah rocket threat
City of Tiberias also blocks access to Rabbi Akiva gravesite fearing too many pilgrims will throng shrine over holiday
By Canaan Lidor, Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
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