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ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 627

Shimon bar Yochai

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
The bonfire lit inside Beis Midrash Beis Shmuel synagogue in London, England last week (Screenshot via Jewish News UK used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law).
May 17, 2023, 9:21 pm
London synagogue catches heat for lighting indoor Lag B’Omer bonfire
Beis Medrash Beis Shmuel synagogue decides to not let rainy weather get in the way of festivities
By ToI Staff
An Israel Dog Unit volunteer searching Mount Meron for missing persons. (Courtesy IDU)
May 19, 2022, 10:52 pm
Thousands go to Meron to find themselves spiritually. Three have never come back
The cradle of Jewish mysticism is also where Moishy Klinerman, Moshe Ilowitz and Haviv Ben-Abu were last seen. As Lag B’Omer’s throngs leave, searchers remain to scour the mountain
By Marissa Newman
The head of the Boyan Hasidic sect lights a bonfire during Lag B'Omer celebrations on Mount Meron in northern Israel on May 18, 2022. (David Cohen/Flash90)
May 19, 2022, 12:21 pm
Mount Meron festivities pass peacefully, but pilgrims gripe at new safety measures
Police, organizers imposed strict limits on numbers of visitors to the Bar Yochai tomb complex for Lag B’Omer holiday after 45 people were trampled to death at last year’s event
By Judah Ari Gross
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit speaks at an event at Bar Ilan University, March 4, 2020. (Flash90)
May 3, 2021, 5:52 pm
AG: Transitional government can form state inquiry into Meron disaster
Justice Minister Gantz, whose query prompted Mandelblit’s opinion, instructs his office to prepare a probe proposal
By ToI Staff
Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather at the grave site of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai at Mount Meron in northern Israel on April 29, 2021, as they celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer (JALAA MAREY / AFP)
May 3, 2021, 1:50 pm
State comptroller announces investigation into ‘preventable’ Meron disaster
Matanyahu Englman says special probe will focus on conduct of all involved, the compound’s administration, and what can be done to stop a similar tragedy occurring in the future
By Raoul Wootliff
Israeli rescue forces and police stand on the stairs where a mass of people were crushed to death and injured during the celebrations of the Lag B'Omer holiday on Mount Meron, in northern Israel on April 30, 2021. (David Cohen/Flash90)
May 3, 2021, 9:50 am
A steep, slippery ramp, uneven stairs: Walking the route of the Meron disaster
The exit ramp where 45 people were crushed to death on Thursday night was allegedly built without a permit, and will feature prominently in upcoming investigations
By Judah Ari Gross
Israeli flags lowered to half-staff in honor of Mount Meron crush victims, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 2, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
May 3, 2021, 1:33 am
Gantz asks AG for position on forming state commission into Meron disaster
Blue and White chief says only such a panel will be able to manage ‘all aspects of investigation into disaster’ and prevent future incidents
By Raoul Wootliff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits a man injured in the Mount Meron disaster, at Haifa's Rambam Medical Center, May 2, 2021. (Courtesy)
May 2, 2021, 8:35 pm
Netanyahu visits Meron injured in hospital amid questions over government role
At Haifa’s Rambam medical center, PM says casualties receiving ‘marvelous care,’ adds some of them owe their lives to rescue teams
By ToI Staff
A man weeps at the funeral of Rabbi Eliezer Goldberg, who died during Lag BaOmer celebrations at Mt. Meron in northern Israel, in Jerusalem on Friday, April 30, 2021.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
May 2, 2021, 1:51 pm
Daily Briefing May 2 – Anatomy of a disaster: What happened at Mount Meron?
Tune in Sunday through Thursday to hear ToI editors and reporters quickly catch you up on what’s important today
By ToI Staff
File: Ultra-Orthodox men take part in celebrations of Lag B'Omer on Mt. Meron, at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, May 17, 2014 (Flash90)
May 2, 2021, 12:39 am
Meron disaster site revealed as a place where nobody was ever really in charge
Caught in tug of war between authorities, religious sects and interest groups, Israel’s 2nd most-visited Jewish holy place has no full, official state oversight
By ToI Staff
Masses of people try to get on buses to leave Mount Meron following a deadly crush on April 30, 2021. (Judah Ari Gross/Times of Israel)
April 30, 2021, 12:42 pm
Mass confusion as tens of thousands try to leave Mt. Meron after deadly crush
Traffic jams, frustration as throngs of men, women and children try to get home before Sabbath; lack of organization leaves hundreds of buses stuck on single-lane route
By Judah Ari Gross
Ultra-Orthodox Jews gather around the bonfire during celebrations of the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, outside of Tel Aviv, on May 17, 2014. (photo credit: Yaakov Naumi/Flash90)
May 20, 2019, 7:05 pm
Ahead of heat wave, Israelis urged to hold their fire on Lag B’Omer
Fearful of forest fires, authorities issue restrictions on bonfires during this week’s holiday
By Melanie Lidman
Uri Berger, an archaeologist in the Upper Eastern Galilee, filed a complaint with the police for the vandalism at the Mt. Meron Nature Reserve on March 4, 2019. (Nadia Azar/Israel Antiquities Authority)
March 4, 2019, 4:43 pm
Graffiti spray-painted on 1,800-year-old synagogue on Galilee’s Mount Meron
For the second time in four years, the 3rd-century house of prayer is vandalized by religious extremists near the tomb of the Talmudic sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
By Amanda Borschel-Dan
Ultra-Orthodox Jews dance around a bonfire in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood on May 2, 2018, during celebrations for the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer. (AFP PHOTO / MENAHEM KAHANA)
May 3, 2018, 11:20 am
Hundreds of thousands flock to Galilee tomb for Lag B’Omer celebrations
Annual bonfire holiday draws over 250,000 largely ultra-Orthodox Jews to burial site of ancient sage; celebrations marred by honor accorded to convicted sex offender
By Tamar Pileggi
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