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2021 Meron crowd crush

Coordinates: 32°58′50.3″N 35°26′25.5″E / 32.980639°N 35.440417°E / 32.980639; 35.440417
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2021 Meron stampede
Police preparations for Simeon bar Yochai celebration in Mount Meron, May 2016
Tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, 2016
Tomb of Rabbi Bar-Yochai is located in Northeast Israel
Tomb of Rabbi Bar-Yochai
Tomb of Rabbi Bar-Yochai
Date30 April 2021 (2021-04-30)
Timec. 00:50 IDT (UTC+03:00)
LocationTomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Meron, Israel
Coordinates32°58′50.3″N 35°26′25.5″E / 32.980639°N 35.440417°E / 32.980639; 35.440417
CauseDisputed; over-crowding in Lag BaOmer celebration
Participants100,000 Haredi and Orthodox Jews
Deaths45
Non-fatal injuries150
InquiriesOngoing

On 30 April 2021, at about 00:50 IDT, a deadly crowd crush occurred in Meron, Israel, during the annual pilgrimage to the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai on the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer, at which about 100,000 people were in attendance. Forty-five people were killed, and about 150 injured, dozens of them critically, making it the deadliest civil disaster in the history of Israel.[1][2] All of the victims at the gender-segregated event were men and boys.[3] The crush occurred after celebrants poured out of one section of the mountainside compound, down a passageway with a sloping metal floor wet with spilled drinks, leading to a staircase continuing down. Witnesses say that people tripped and slipped near the top of the stairs. Those behind, unaware of the blockage ahead, continued, crushing the people further down.[4][5]

The potential for such a calamity, given the tens of thousands of celebrants, had been reported by the state comptroller and the police chief. The local council had tried several times to close the site.[4] Reuters cited Israeli media outlets in reporting that, as a precaution against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, bonfire areas had been partitioned off, which may have created choke-points that were not taken into account.[6]

Background

Further information: Revelry of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
Many traditional Lag BaOmer events took place at the festival, such as dancing and lighting bonfires, preceding the crush.

Many Jews, mostly Haredi, traditionally convene for Lag BaOmer at the grave of the 2nd-century Tannaitic rabbi Shimon bar Yochai at Mount Meron to dance and make bonfires.[7] Men and women attend in separate sections.[8] Haaretz called it Israel's "biggest religious festival of the year".[9]

In 2020, the country restricted the pilgrimage due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cabinet of Israel permitted the 2021 pilgrimage and waived the COVID-19 cap of 1,000 attendees. The cap was lifted as part of an agreement with Ministry of Religious Services officials which required attendees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.[10] The event was the largest to be held in Israel since the start of the pandemic in 2020.[11]

Additionally, for the first time in 13 years, the Mount Meron celebration happened between Thursday and Friday, the significance being that culturally, the night is seen as comparable to Saturday night in other parts of the world. This is due to the Israeli principle of considering Friday to be the day of rest, making it comparable to Sunday in other parts of the world. Moreover, the celebration was limited to a window of 14 hours before the start of Shabbat, when three bonfires were lit at the same time, each by an Admor, with approximately three thousand people at each bonfire.[12] The number of people permitted to the bonfire lighting was limited to 10,000 people,[1] but approximately 100,000 had arrived at the site,[13] which was larger than the restricted crowd in 2020 but smaller than the hundreds of thousands of people in previous years.[11] Israeli media reported that, as a precaution against the COVID-19 pandemic, bonfire areas had been partitioned off, which may have created choke-points that were not taken into account.[6]

The crush was not the first time pilgrims at Mount Meron had been killed in an accident: on 15 May 1911, eleven people were killed when a crowd of about 10,000 filled the compound and a railing of a nearby balcony collapsed. About 100 people fell from a height of roughly 25 feet to the ground below,[9] the deaths of seven were determined at the scene and of four others in the days following the incident. There were 40 injured.[14]

Safety warnings

A 2008 report of the site by the State Comptroller of Israel concluded that the site is not adequate for the number of annual visitors.[15][16] A 2016 police report warned of issues with infrastructure and crowd control.[17]

In 2011, the state declared it would take control over the site,[18] but control was returned to owners in a court approved settlement in 2020.[19]

Eight days before the disaster, the Israel Fire and Rescue Services required that for 9,000 people, the place needed four different ways to escape.[20]

Crush

Crowd before the disaster

According to witness accounts, the event was held in a fenced area described as "overly confining".[21] After the lighting ceremony, and as dancing began, hundreds of people left. The exit path is a narrow, steep slope with a smooth metal floor. With nothing to hold onto, the crowd leaned on each other. The path then leads to steps before a narrow tunnel.[22][23] Close to 01:00, some participants began to slip and fall, either on the metal slope or the stone steps,[7][11][21][22][23][24] trampled over and asphyxiated by those behind who followed.[23][25] As the crowd moved to the gates, a crush started.[1][21]

According to one witness, security blocked the passageway and kept people from exiting. As people were starting to faint from immense overcrowding, police finally opened the gates to allow people through. The crush ensued as a large number of people tried to exit at the same time through the narrow passageway.[26] Other witnesses said the path was slippery from spilled water and juice.[21][7] In the crush, 45 people were killed and about 150 more were injured.[1][23] The dead included six Americans, two Canadians, an Argentinian and a Briton.[27]

As medics were trying to reach the injured, former Israeli Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau remained on stage urging calm and reciting psalms for the injured.[1] Three hundred rescue buses were prevented from entering the site due to blocked access roads.[28] Six helicopters were flown in to evacuate the injured. Cell phone service crashed due to the number of people trying to get in contact with their families.[1]

Aftermath

Israel Defense Forces personnel after the disaster

The crush is currently under investigation. Israeli police said the crush was unpreventable and that the location was being inspected for structural flaws, but the scenario of people slipping on stairs was out of police control.[29] Police Northern commander Shimon Lavi said that he bears full responsibility.[30][31] Police released a statement that the passage was authorized by all authorities and that they had understood the event would be abnormally large.[31] Mordechai Halperin, ex-chairman of Moshav Meron Committee, said that the passage was built on an escape route without the proper permits.[32] Many commentators put forward the Haredi community's relative autonomy within Israel's governance as a major contributing factor to the catastrophe.[33]

The crush was the deadliest civilian disaster to occur in Israeli history,[22] surpassing the 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire which killed 44.[34] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a "great tragedy" and said that everyone was praying for the victims.[34] Netanyahu declared 2 May 2021 a national day of mourning.[35] Several cultural activities were cancelled.[36] President Reuven Rivlin offered his condolences to the victims.[37]

The Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir completed the identification of all 45 victims by 2 May 2021.[38]

Condolences were issued by officials from many governments, including the Palestinian government,[39] the European Union,[7] and the United States.[29]

Israeli Administration of Border Crossings, Population and Immigration had declared that a "fast route" to enter Israel had been defined to allow families of the injured and deceased to enter Israel.[40][41]

State Comptroller of Israel Matanyahu Englman announced on 3 May that he would be leading a special review of the events preceding the disaster.[42]

On 3 May 2021, the Israeli authority for sacred locations had been given a decree to prevent any celebration without an explicit permit from the Israeli police commissioner.[43] Prior to that decree it was enough to get a permit from the regional police chief.[43]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Joffre, Tzvi. "Israel works to identify 45 killed in Lag Ba'omer Mount Meron stampede". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  2. ^ ""There are casualties, the event is over!": The moment of the disaster, live from Mount Meron". Ynet (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Israel crush: Israel mourns as festival crush victims identified". BBC News. 1 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b Kershner, Isabel (30 April 2021). "Israel Mourns After a Religious Festival Turns Into Disaster". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  5. ^ "How the deadly Israel stampede unfolded". Sky News. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b Williams, Dan; Rabinovitch, Ari (30 April 2021). "Israel seeks to identify many of 45 dead in crush at religious festival". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d Kershner, Isabel; Nagourney, Eric; Ives, Mike (29 April 2021). "Stampede at Israel Religious Celebration Kills at Least 44". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  8. ^ Liphshiz, Cnaan (30 April 2021). "Why do ultra-Orthodox Jews flock to Mount Meron on Lag B'Omer?". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b Maltz, Judy (30 April 2021). "Why do Orthodox Jews flock to the Mt. Meron tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai?". Haaretz.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  10. ^ Schwartz, Felicia (29 April 2021). "Dozens Killed in Stampede at Israeli Religious Festival". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  11. ^ a b c "Israel crush: Dozens killed at Lag B'Omer religious festival". BBC. 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  12. ^ "44 הרוגים ויותר מ-100 פצועים בהילולה בהר מירון". Ynet (in Hebrew). 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  13. ^ "44 people crushed to death, dozens hurt at mass Lag B'Omer event in Mt. Meron". The Times of Israel. 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  14. ^ Israel, David (30 April 2021). "The Tragedy on Mt. Meron, Lag B'Omer 1911". Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  15. ^ "מבקר המדינה מצא ליקויים בקבר הרשב"י כבר לפני 12 שנה: "אין לאפשר את המצב הקיים"". ynet. 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  16. ^ "News1 מחלקה ראשונה". www.news1.co.il. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  17. ^ JAFFE-HOFFMAN, MAAYAN (1 May 2021). "After Meron tragedy: How to survive a crowd crush". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  18. ^ "הממשלה החליטה להלאים את קבר הרשב"י". Haaretz הארץ. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  19. ^ "המהלך להפקעת מתחם קבר הרשבי במירון נעצר; במקומו – הסדר ל-3 שנים". www.nadlancenter.co.il. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  20. ^ "המסמך שחושף את המחדל במירון: "הדרישה - 4 דרכי מילוט"". ynet (in Hebrew). 3 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ a b c d "Stampede at religious festival in Israel leaves at least 45 dead, dozens injured". The Washington Post. 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  22. ^ a b c Breiner, Josh; Shpigel, Noa (2 May 2021). "Drone Footage: How Israel's Lag Ba'omer Disaster Unfolded". Haaretz. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  23. ^ a b c d Kingsley, Patrick (1 May 2021). "Recriminations Intensify After Deadly Israel Stampede". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Stampede at religious festival in Israel kills at least 45". Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  25. ^ Lubell, Maayan (2 May 2021). "U.S. citizens killed in Israel festival disaster, anger mounts". Reuters. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  26. ^ "Justice Ministry To Open Probe Into Possible Police Negligence At Meron". 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  27. ^ Rabinovitch, Ari (3 May 2021). "Israeli state watchdog to investigate religious festival stampede". Reuters. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  28. ^ ""המשטרה לא פינתה צירים; שוטרים הצילו חיים"". kikar.co.il (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  29. ^ a b Breiner, Josh; Shpigel, Noa (30 April 2021). "At Least 44 Killed at Overcrowded Lag Ba'Omer Event in Northern Israel". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  30. ^ "Meron exit route was known for years as bottleneck; police commander takes blame". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  31. ^ a b "במשטרה הודפים האשמות: "כולם אישרו את שביל הגישה, המדינה אחראית"". Ynet (in Hebrew). 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  32. ^ ""מאשר האתר הוא רוצח, אני מאשים את היועמ"ש"". 103FM (in Hebrew). 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  33. ^ ""Israel asks whether autonomy of the ultra-Orthodox contributed to the deadly stampede"". 2 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  34. ^ a b Krauss, Joseph (29 April 2021). "Stampede at Israeli religious festival kills nearly 40". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  35. ^ "As Meron deaths rise to 45, PM declares Sunday day of mourning, vows full probe". The Times of Israel. 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  36. ^ "בעקבות האסון במירון: ביטולי הופעות בעולם התרבות". ynet (in Hebrew). 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  37. ^ Shpigel, Noa; Breiner, Josh (30 April 2021). "At Least 45 Crushed to Death at Lag Ba'Omer Disaster in Northern Israel". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  38. ^ "Forensic Institute: All 45 victims of Meron disaster identified". Israel National News. Arutz Sheva. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  39. ^ "Palestinian leader Abbas, Jordan's king, Gulf allies send condolences over Meron". Times of Israel. 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  40. ^ Offical PIBA facebook page (PibaIsrael), 1 May 2021
  41. ^ @GLZRadio (30 April 2021). "רשות האוכלוסין וההגירה: "לאור האסון שאירע במירון וכמחווה למשפחות הנפגעים השוהות מחוץ לישראל - פתחנו מסלול ייעודי עבור בני משפחה מדרגה ראשונה מחו״ל, המבקשים להגיע לבקר את הפצועים הנמצאים בישראל"" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  42. ^ Altman, Yair (3 May 2021). "State comptroller to review events leading to Lag B'Omer stampede". Israel Hayom. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  43. ^ a b "פרסום ראשון | הנחיה חדשה למרכז המקומות הקדושים אחרי האסון במירון". ערוץ 7.
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