Israeli authorities called an early close on Thursday to a religious bonfire festival after dozens of ultra-Orthodox Jews overwhelmed crowd-control measures meant to prevent a repeat of a crush that killed 45 people last year.
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TV stations showed pilgrims knocking down safety barricades and scuffling with police at the Meron tomb of second-century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the site of annual two-day celebrations that can draw as many as 200,000 people.
After the 2021 crush – Israel's worst civilian disaster – authorities limited the number of revelers allowed in at any one time and required that they arrive by authorized buses only.
The bus shuttle was shut down in the afternoon, hours before the festival's usual conclusion at sunset, organizers said.
"We apologize to the many pilgrims for the distress caused by a group of extremists who chose to violate public order," they said in a statement, adding that this conduct had created "an inability to maintain the safety standards set."
In a video of the confrontations aired on Channel 12, some of the ultra-Orthodox are heard yelling "Nazi, Nazi," at the police and throwing water bottles at security staff.
Police restrictions in place had capped 16,000 worshippers at the site at one time, while 8,000 police officers secured the site.
On Tuesday, police said they stopped a minibus near Mount Meron carrying members of the radical ultra-Orthodox sect in question in possession of box cutters, wire cutters, paint bombs, and other tools that officers suspected were meant to vandalize infrastructure at the site. At least three people were arrested.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said ahead of the holiday's commencement at sundown Wednesday that "the government of Israel has made a large investment in order to allow wide and safe participation."
"I ask the public to act according to the published guidelines and to arrive with a ticket in order that we can hold the festival safely," he said.
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The safety manager of the event, police Cmdr. (ret.) Zviki Tesler, said on Wednesday, prior to the event: "This year, we are holding the events under the banner of safety. I am satisfied by the pace of preparations and the progress, although we did not complete everything."
He added: "I am aware of extremist elements that might be seen as a minority, but they are no doubt vocal. When people break the law, enforcement is required and police will do that."
JNS.org contributed to this report.
