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  -- Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, responding to the news that Meron will be closed and declared a closed military zone for the week leading up to Lag BaOmer and for Lag BaOmer itself, to prevent people form going there against instructions. 

Meron has been hit with rockets from Hezbollah several times (there is an important army base very close to Meron) and a party with a large amount of celebrants on Lag BaOmer could make this an easy target for Hezbollah and will be a potential disaster. Goldknopf obviously doesnt like the idea of Meron being closed on Lag BaOmer. 

What he said caused quite a stir, especially because Metulla is closed down. Goldknopf has since apologized, but specifically apologized for inaccurately bundling Tzfat and Meron together. It seems he still thinks the Meron celebration shouldnt be shut down, despite the war and danger, just he shouldnt have compared it to Metulla...

To that end, without insurance, with the event just two or so weeks away, they are saying that unless the State insures the event with a solution presented next week they will put a halt to all preparations and abandon the event. 

I am not sure who they think they are threatening. Does "the State" care if they do or do not put on a Lag B'Omer event?

Regardless of that, how does this work? If insurance companies will not insure an event, does the State have the ability to somehow? The State is not an insurance company. Under what authority or via what office using what methods and protocols can the State provide insurance to an event? How does this work? is this something normally done? They insist the State take responsibility but isnt that what happened last time even though it was not under the guise of insurance - the State paid families after the tragedy. What is this crisis really about?

It was actually effective (among the group of people who do these things anyway - not sure if anyone else thought about intentionally getting beaten by the police to earn a hundred dollars).

Well, sort of.

The day before Lag B'Omer required the police to clear everyone off Mt Meron so the entire area could be cleaned and barriers placed appropriately in advance of the big event. Obviously some people refused to follow police orders and hunkered down instead of leaving. Some people were arrested/detained, including a "young avreich". This fellow sat in the prison (in Tzalmon Prison, because Tiberias prison was already full) for 2 days before being taken before a judge. The judge issued an order that this fellow cant be in the area of Meron for 30 days, and additionally would be subject to full house arrest for 5 days.

Upon receiving the verdict this fellow requested that the 5 days house arrest be changed to 5 days of full arrest in actual prison. Strange request but this avreich explained that 5 days of arrest would give him $500 from the group paying $100 per day for being arrested. He explained that he doesnt earn a decent living and this would be significant for him and his family.

The judge actually supported him without sending him to prison. She said that he should submit his claim even without going to prison because house arrest is considered legally fully as a regular arrest - they give house arrest when there is no concern of escape or danger, but it is fully considered as having been arrested. Because of that she did not send him to prison but kept it as house arrest.

source: Hamechadesh

I would like to hear the end of the story - did he get paid or not?  I am not even sure the house arrest might be the deciding factor, as it might be included as a good excuse to not pay, but he was arrested before Lag B'Omer, not while fighting the police at the event itself. I would like to know if they paid up or if he was just a patsy.

I did see a lot of online complaining from both Haredi news media sites and on social media saying the State took it over and ruined the celebrations, causing few people to go, leaving the Mt Meron largely empty with a weak celebration of little or no music and no food, limiting how much time people could be there, etc. They were mostly complaining that instead of a celebration it is mostly a depressing event.

I think it was clear to most people that far fewer people would go this year. Not because they are afraid. I think most people are not afraid, especially with a lot of the irresponsible things being stopped. But because there is just a bit of a damper on it. The tragedy of last year with 45 celebrants being killed in the crowds and collapse along with many more injured, just put a damper on the whole thing. several hassidic groups told their people to not go. 

The police did not tell anyone not to go. They made thousands of tickets available to the public. Anyone who wanted to go was able to. Even if it was not perfect, and even if the police gave groups of tickets and priority to some hassidic groups over other people (as some reports have claimed), there was still plenty to go around. Anyone who wanted to go was able to. Anyone who wanted to daven by Kever Rashbi was able to. Anyone who wanted to participate in honoring Rashbi was able to. And anyone who did not want to chose not despite being able to.

It isnt a failure just because the event did not draw 500,000 people. The event was not a failure just because it was not a mad crush with a chaotic celebration, with every group making its own bonfire and tish, with the tens of thousands of people crushing together like sardines. It was not a failure just because there was not a crazy trance concert with free food being given out. 

We know that this year's celebration was not like last years or the years before. It was planned to not be, so just because it wasnt the type of party some want doesnt make it a failure. Some people just like to complain no matter what.

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Not exactly "pay for slay" but not that far off....

The sign is really a posting of a price list of sorts for fighting with the police in Meorn on Lag B'Omer.

Whoever is behind this says that they have achieved funding for people who will be harmed by the police, according to the following price list:

If you get arrested, up to 1 day: $200

if you get hit by the police (better with it being documented): $100

if you get a fine: double whatever the fine is

Qualified participants should leave a message on the various system lines (I guess the relevant people know them, as they aren't included in the sign)

Accompanying the lower picture of a police bus to hold detainees, they write that even 50 of these won't be enough.

Looks like it will be leibedige on Lag B'Omer, though I really think their bark is worse than their bite... there probably wont be too many of these whackos...

It isnt a bad price list for people who dont have any other regular income... I do wonder if they get $100 for every time a policeman hits them, for each klop on the head, or is it $100 overall for being hit but not for each punch or slap?

I wonder how much money they were able to raise for this incentive program - they could not even afford to print a real sign but printed it on a home printer using A4 paper....

They accuse the government of trying to take over Meron and take the treasures of Meron and the area for itself, and to that end have destroyed shuls and batei medrash and the tzniyus roads and paths (which the government built in previous years in the first place)...

The Badatz calls on its adherents to not follow the rules of the government and to go to Meron without cooperating and without needing any favors or goodwill from those evil people.

I am not sure what they are expecting to happen - are they buying tickets to get in and just dont plan to follow the rules once there? Are they going to go without buying tickets and plan to fight their way in? Are they just talk and bluster and really will play along very nicely? Very often their public fights get a lot of public Haredi support from young hotheads. The issue of Meron is unique. Because of what happened last year I am not sure people form the general Haredi community are going to support them in this approach.

The last thing we need in Meron right now is to see the Edia zealots going to Meron and fighting their way in, attacking policemen and policemen attacking them to keep them out, or even getting in and then messing up the logistics in place...

In light of last year's tragedy at Meron in which 45 people were killed on Lag B'Omer, among the changes for this year's festivities, entry will only be permitted to those carrying tickets. Tickets are meant to stagger the numbers of participants so there won't be too many at any one given time, with entry permitted for up to 4 hours. When purchasing a ticket, the ticket will be for a specific time. 

I guess it was bound to happen. With tickets limited, whether by number or by time, someone was going to forge them. I assume there will also be scalping at some point, if there isn't already. Some people probably bought large amounts of tickets, ostensibly for groups, and will resell them at a higher price.

Interestingly, one of the men arrested, a 19 year old Haredi from Jerusalem, is being defended by a lawyer who has claimed that he did not do it. His argument is that this young man has no knowledge of computers and only holds a kosher phone, so there is no way he could have done this. The phones confiscated during the arrest have no connection to the Internet and with his lack of knowledge in how to use a computer, it is an unreasonable suspicion to think that this young man is unreasonable for the forgery.

source: Behadrei

I dont know that any of this need necessarily be an impediment to forging documents and selling them (his partner could have done that part of it while he handled other aspects of the plan), but I obviously dont know that he did. The police will have to make their case.

If they would like to see even a semblance of compliance they should really make it slightly more realistic.

The announcement is that bonfires will only be allowed in areas that will have been designated and prepared for this by the Iryah. And it goes on to list the designated plots for bonfires throughout the city. Each neighborhood listed has two sites or more designated for bonfires. For some of those neighborhoods, two might not be enough either, but let's say it is. RBS A, possibly the largest single neighborhood of the entire Bet Shemesh is the only neighborhood with only one designated area - on Ein Gedi St. and it doesnt even say where on Ein Gedi St

Besides for the fact that it is not realistic to send thousands of people to one spot unless you are trying to create a disaster, and that is without even taking available parking into account, do they really expect people from Nahal Dolev, Nahal Raziel, Nahal Shimshon, Nehar Hayarden, and other streets on the other side of the neighborhood to go all the way to Ein Gedi, even if the people who live closer will? This is like set up to fail!

If they expect compliance, or anything close to it, they should have an area for bonfires in each area of the neighborhood - RBS is very large and spread out so more than one, probably at least 5 or 6 are needed.... (it might be just as insufficient in other neighborhoods, but I am only referring to RBS A)

  -- Minister of Religious Affairs Matan Kahane

this cannot be satisfying to the people who have called Kahane names like "Antiochus" due to the various reforms he has been proposing..

   -- Rav Avraham Freuilich, one of the Committee of Five members, testifying before the investigative committee for the Meron tragedy

  - - MK Keti Shitreet (Likud) 

Well, Rav Gamliel Rabinovitz, a noted mekubal from Jerusalem, says otherwise. he actually says not to blame the women.

According to Kikar, Rav Gamliel said that the fact that the fact that only men were killed and injured in the recent tragedies that hit the community, Meron and Karlin in Givat Zeev, shows that the reason behind the tragedy was our involvement in machloket, and women were not affected because they don't generally get involved in machloket.

Rav Gamliel also pointed to Corona and said women were hardly affected in Corona as well - mostly men suffered (is that true statistically? I have no idea).

We have to look at our actions and deeds, do soul searching, and see the machloket we get involved in, and they are all run by men. Women are hardly involved, if at all, and that is why they avoided these issues.

Rav Gamliel stressed that the tragedies were not because of that, but machloket causes fire to rage in the community.

The family put HYD on the headstone (tombstone)???!!! wow! That's serious

The entire site of Amuka will be shut down from this Thursday morning at 5am through Sunday evening at 7pm. The entire site will be closed down and the roads leading to Amuka will be barricaded. Additionally, camping, or otherwise sleeping, in the forests surrounding Amuka will be banned within 800 meters of the site.

Basically, the entire place will be shut down. No foot traffic, no vehicular traffic, no camping out there, no nothing.

The Regional Council people say the entire structure is dangerous and illegal, built with no permits. They say the supporting walls are crumbling and at risk of collapse. The roads leading up to Amuka, the say, are dangerous narrow roads with pastoral views but no safety barriers and with extremely dangerous curves and these roads cannot handle the high volume of traffic of such an event.

And so it begins.... the Meron Effect. Nobody wants to take the risk after what happened in Meron. Especially with nobody really doing a serious investigation, meaning nothing is going to get fixed any time soon, whether in the structural area or in the relevant administrative areas. It is easier to just shut it down and say it is dangerous. And presumably it really is, especially if it is built illegally and haphazardly. I have not been there in several years, but if it has not changed much, the main structure was a small room and then there were some aluminum-based add-ons adjuncts. I don't know how big this hilula gets - obviously not as many people as Rashbi on Lag B'Omer, but it is definitely easier to just shut it down and declare it dangerous rather than take the risk.

I have no idea if the Amuka site is controlled by the State or if it too, like Meron, is controlled by some sort of hekdesh.

If the entire structure is in danger of collapsing, perhaps it should be shut down more permanently and renovated, only being reopened after it is up to code and declared safe.

It seems to me the Meron Effect will snowball and this will keep happening to hilulas and similar sites (kivrei tzaddikim, etc) until someone takes actual responsibility and ensures that safety standards are up to par.

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