Commission of Inquiry holds Netanyahu responsible for Israel’s worst civilian disaster
A state commission of inquiry investigating Israel’s worst civilian disaster held Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally responsible for the tragedy in a report released on Wednesday.
Emergency crews at the grave of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on Mount Meron during the Jewish holiday of Lag B’Omer on April 30, 2021, where 45 people killed and 150 injured dozens were injured when a faulty walkway collapsed, triggering a stampede. Photo by Yaron Blustein/TPS
Forty-five people were killed, and 150 people were injured in a stampede at a holy site on Mount Meron in the Upper Galilee during the Jewish holiday of Lag B’Omer on April 30, 2021. A combination of overcrowded conditions and a faulty walkway in a narrow passage triggered the tragedy.
The report determined that Netanyahu bore personal responsibility, saying, “Our conclusion is that there is a reasonable basis to determine that Netanyahu knew that the site of [the tomb] had been poorly cared for years and that this could create a risk for the crowds of visitors. Even if we assume that Netanyahu had no real knowledge of the matter, under the circumstances he should have known it.”
However, the report added, “Since the position of Prime Minister is essentially an elected position, with unique characteristics, the committee decided not to recommend an operative recommendation in his case.”
The other responsible officials include then-Minister of Religious Services Rabbi Yaakov Avitan, then-Minister of Internal Security Amir Ohana, and outgoing Police Superintendent Kobi Shabtai.
The report recommended that Avitan not be appointed to any ministerial position in the future. It also recommended that Ohana — now the Speaker of the Knesset — not be reappointed as Minister of Internal Security. Shabtai’s tenure as Israel’s top police officer was scheduled to expire in January, but was extended for six months because of the war with Hamas. Shabtai is due to step down on July 17.
Mount Meron is the burial place of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a second-century sage whose works continue to serve as the foundation of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. Celebrations on the anniversary of his death are marked with bonfires. The yearly event draws around 100,000 people.
Lag B’Omer this year begins at sundown on May 25. Celebrations are widely expected to be scaled back because of the war. An army base located on the same mountain has been hit by Hezbollah rocket fire.
