A deadly stampede that killed at least 45 pilgrims at a religious site in Israel is still an open case. The religious extremism of ultra-orthodox followers is at the center of accusations.
On Sunday, an official investigation into a deadly stampede that led to the death of dozens of pilgrims at a Jewish site began hearing witnesses. The inquiry means to clarify the reasons behind the Israel’s greatest civilian catastrophe in history.
The Lag B’Omer ceremony involves all-night worship, mystical music, and dance. On April 30, it drew around one hundred thousand ultra-Orthodox Jews to the grave of sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. During the event, a section of the audience rushed into a tight passage, suffocating or trampling 45 men and boys in a deadly stampede.
Years earlier, Israeli administration inspector declared the Mount Meron a dangerous religious site. The population of attendees at the location was smaller this year, but the officials didn’t manage to control the disaster. Besides, the crowd number was still higher than the COVID-19 limits allowed at the time.
The state commission of investigation was established immediately after the new administration was sworn in. The commission has court-like powers, allowing it to call witnesses and order the disclosure of any pertinenet evidence. Although its results are not enforceable by law, the administration may use them.
The committee, led by a retired High Court chief, may find evidence of illegal activity. In that case, it will report it to the attorney general. The chief of the police in Northern District, Shimon Lavi, provided the committee with the first testimony. Lavi talked about his feeling and what he could have done to impede it: “Not a night goes by in which my mind doesn’t race with thoughts of what I could have done differently.”
April 20; A Deadly Stampede
Officials reports from medical offices confirmed that the deadly stampede during a religious event in northern Israel led to the death of 45 people and wounded another 150 individuals. The disaster was one of the deadliest humanitarian tragedies in the Israel’s’ seven-decade history.
The “heaviest disasters” that could occur, as Benjamin Netanyahu described it, included children among the victims. “There were heartbreaking sights here, people crushed to death including children. A large proportion of those who have perished are still unknown. This is tearing up the hearts of families,” Netanyahu said following a visit to the scene.
Among the victims, there were also Canadian and American nationals. Rows of victims draped in white blankets were seen in the aftermath, as were remains being carried into emergency vehicles by rescue personnel.
The investigations will entail a potential former government’s negligence in the outbreak of the incidents. Some wondered if the former administration, as well as the security officials, were hesitant to restrict the crowd size. The group believe that pressure from powerful ultra-Orthodox figures might have forced Netanyahu government into conservatism and compromising public safety.
Netanyahu, then the prime minister, pledged a thorough inquiry, but his government, which contained ultra-Orthodox ministers, took no historic step. A serious confrontation between Israel and Gaza in about 10 days further marginalized the deadly stampede.
US President Joe Biden and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II were among the high-ranks officials who shared condolences and offered assistance. The irresponsibility of the local officials in the following months, however, indicated the irrelevance of the primary expressions of grief.
Israel is a religious state whose identity politics took shape on religious grounds. Lack of wisdom in holding religious practices is indicative of the inherent extremism rooted in the foundation of the structure.
