Netanyahu at the commission of inquiry into the Miron disaster: "I cannot accept responsibility for what you do not know"/Government Press Office
In July 2022, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified before the commission of inquiry into the Miron disaster.
One sentence echoed in Netanyahu's testimony that he told committee member Shlomo Yanai regarding his responsibility that "you cannot accept responsibility for what you do not know."
Today (Wednesday) the investigative committee determined that Netanyahu bears personal responsibility.
"We have come to the conclusion that there is a reasonable basis for Netanyahu to have known that the Rashbi's tomb site had been poorly cared for for years and that the deficiencies could create a risk for the multitudes of participants in the revelry that is held at the site of Lag BaOmer," the investigation committee's summary report states. "At the very least, In the circumstances of the matter, he should have known about it after the issue came to his office many times and after he himself was required to do so several times in government discussions.
Therefore, Netanyahu's claim that he was not caught by the lapel of his coat should not be accepted."
Netanyahu in his testimony at the Miron/Flash 90 committee, Yonatan Zindel
As mentioned, the committee imposed personal responsibility on Netanyahu.
However, the committee did not find it appropriate to submit recommendations against him.
The committee states with regard to Netanyahu that in some cases regarding the failures over the years in the management of the revelry in Miron, Netanyahu was directly involved in the matter in two government decisions made during his term of office that dealt with responsibility for the site of the Rashbi's tomb and which were preceded by a discussion in the government.
The committee notes discussions that took place even before Netanyahu took office in 2009 Following the State Comptroller's opinion regarding the state of the Rashbi's tomb and the preparation for LJ Ba'Omer in Miron. Two years later, the State Comptroller's Office published follow-up findings, for which the government in that year adopted Resolution 3886, in which it was decided to establish a government company for the public benefit to be called "The Rashbi Foundation" and his legacy" and that you will bear overall responsibility for the site.
In the same government debate that preceded the decision, the then Minister of Tourism, Stas Miszhnikov, presented the background and added: "I want to thank the prime minister, who was personally involved in this, for his hard work."
It doesn't end here.
During that discussion, the Prime Minister asked what the interests were behind the decision and one of the attendees whispered in his ear while he explained: "She is teaching me what the interests are here."
The committee found that the decision was never implemented, the company was established, but never started to operate.
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She sent letters to Netanyahu and warned.
Miri Regev/Reuven Castro
Another issue that the committee shines a spotlight on is the fact that from February 2014 until May of that year, letters were sent to the Prime Minister's Office and to Prime Minister Netanyahu himself, including his request that the ministry intervene regarding the preparations for the celebration in Miron.
The chairman of the Hershebi Foundation and his legacy approached Netanyahu himself.
The chairman of the Knesset's Interior Committee at the time, Miri Regev, also did this and sent three letters to the Prime Minister's Office, two of the letters to Netanyahu himself. The letters emphasized the serious dangers of holding the revelry without a single responsible party and Regev sought to warn of a "grave disaster that will result in many deaths and injuries.
The government secretary replied to Regev, but this did not come to his attention.
Another government decision, according to the report, was made in January 2016, when it was decided to dissolve the government company, even though it was not active at all, and to transfer its responsibilities and powers, as well as its duties, to the Center for the National Development of the Holy Places. Two months later, the committee notes, the commissioner contacted The police to the Director General of the Prime Minister's Office and requested that he be required for issues that require treatment and decision.
The director general of the ministry referred the commissioner to the ministry of religious services.
Another year passes and the chairman of the Interior Committee at the time, Dodi Amsalem, writes another letter on the matter to the ministers concerned and also to Prime Minister Netanyahu. Netanyahu continued to claim that the letters did not reach him personally.
The scene of the disaster in Miron/Flash 90, David Cohen
The committee states that despite Netanyahu's claims that he would have taken care if he had known, he has the responsibility to proactively locate, by himself or through his people, issues that require his office's care and, if necessary, his intervention.
"The steps he took were not satisfactory," read the committee's conclusions against Netanyahu.
"He knew that government decisions made on the matter were not implemented."
Netanyahu's claim that a distinction must be made between issues related to improving the management of the site and the safety issue was also not accepted by the committee.
As for Netanyahu's claim that the expropriation of the site was stopped due to legal proceedings, the committee chose not to address the claim in detail because the expropriation was never completed.
However, the members of the committee wrote: "The fact that the expropriation of the site was not completed required a closer and stricter care and supervision of the management of the site."
In the Miron report, the committee referred to a quote from the State Comptroller's report on the Carmel disaster in relation to Netanyahu: "Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, by virtue of his position and position, bears overall responsibility for the actions of the government. For a long time, the claims and disputes between the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Finance poured onto his desk and he had to decide on the matter. However, for too long a period, the Prime Minister refrained from throwing his weight behind the settlement of this dispute, a delay that had weighty implications regarding the level of preparation of the fire department on the eve of the fires."
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