The Mount Meron disaster

The corridor of death and the stands were removed: a year after the disaster, the celebrants in Meron will find a different compound than they knew

Following the disaster that claimed the lives of 45 people last year, the holy site realized that action needed to be taken to change the situation, and 63 illegal structures were removed, including bridges, residential complexes and grandstands.

In the future, more buildings are expected to be demolished, with the overarching goal being the approval of a plan that will make the place more worthy and safer.

Eli Ashkenazi

17/05/2022

Tuesday, 17 May 2022, 19:05 Updated: 21:21

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In the video: Half an hour before the Mount Meron disaster: checkpoints were set up in the compound (Walla system!)

The disaster in which 45 people were killed made it clear that it is no longer possible to continue with the abandonment at the holy site and the situation must be changed.

Therefore, the celebrants

who will arrive in the next two days for the celebration of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi) in Meron will find a completely different complex than they have known in recent years.

For the past 15 years, the operation has been conducted by the Real Estate Enforcement Authority.

More on Walla!

A week before the revelry: this is how we hope to prevent the next Meron disaster

To the full article

A bear bridge on which the Meron disaster occurred, before the incident (Photo: Official website, Real Estate Enforcement Authority)

A bear bridge on which the Meron disaster occurred, after the incident (Photo: Official website, Real Estate Enforcement Authority)

Most of the work was done on the legal level in the face of difficulties and objections from many bodies, which established a grip on the place and erected various buildings and complexes, sometimes also dangerous and unsafe.

These were three types of buildings: passages and bridges, large grandstands on which stood thousands of celebrants lighting the bonfire and hospitality and residential complexes.

The compound after the removal of the stands in Meron, today (Photo: Flash 90, David Cohen)

Dissolution of the stands around the Rashbi Zion in Meron, August 2021 (Photo: Flash 90, David Cohen)

The huge grandstands were established by a state body, which is a center for holy places that several years ago decided to establish permanent grandstands instead of dismantling and assembling every year.

Both solutions were dangerous and unsafe and over the years there was a fear that grandstands would collapse from the weight of the masses of celebrants dancing on them.

Destruction of Or Rashbi Yeshiva, Meron (Photo: Official website, Real Estate Enforcement Authority)

An inspection revealed that the permanent grandstands, which seemed to be more stable and safe than the temporary grandstands built each year before the revelry, were also dangerous.

First, they were built so that the celebrants could stand on them and this is contrary to what is customary at any mass event where one can only sit in the stands.

It also turned out that the land on which the stands were built was without the required foundation and with dilapidated foundations.

The collapse of one of the grandstands would have caused a catastrophe to a greater extent than the mass catastrophe a year ago.

Later in the year more buildings are expected to be demolished, however the more significant task will be to implement the approved plan for seven years to make the complex more proper, comfortable and safe.

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