Amid fears of rocket fire from Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israeli authorities have scrapped plans for the annual Lag B'Omer pilgrimage to Mount Meron in the Galilee region. Instead, up to 30,000 worshippers are anticipated to congregate at the Shimon HaTzadik tomb in the Palestinian neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem to mark the holiday, a decision that has drawn criticism as a potential catalyst for heightened tensions.
Critics have voiced concerns that holding the alternative event in Sheikh Jarrah, a frequent flashpoint for clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces, could ignite further unrest. Ir Amim, a Palestinian organization, stated, "For the authorities to sponsor this event in a context in which they also promote the eviction and displacement of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah is not a gesture for diversity but an attempt to Israelize east Jerusalem."
The Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Ministry, under the leadership of Meir Porush from the United Torah Judaism party, is spearheading the organization of the east Jerusalem event, which is also responsible for the annual Meron gathering. Typically, Mount Meron, believed to be the burial site of the second-century sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, draws over 100,000 pilgrims during Lag B'Omer.
Shmuel Karmasky, a ministry spokesperson, dismissed apprehensions, remarking, "We're not ashamed of anything, developing the Shimon HaTzadik gravesite is a national priority headed by the ministry. It's not meant to provoke, and we have good ties with community leaders in the neighborhood. We don't expect disturbances." An invitation sent by the ministry mentioned that Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef would attend the Sheikh Jarrah event.
Of course, the picture was different last night, with hundreds of police barricading entrance and exit into the neighborhood as Jewish worshipers celebrated separate from the local community in a Sheikh Jarrah that seems to have underwent a drastic transformation for the holiday pic.twitter.com/wSUWmWKfXd
— Charlie (@cbsu03) May 26, 2024
Concurrently, private donors have sponsored an alternative mass gathering in Beit Shemesh, where approximately 30,000 revelers are anticipated to partake in a torch-lighting ceremony led by Rabbi Elimelech Biderman.
Some voices advocate prioritizing safety over ritual observance. "No one should get hurt to fulfill this custom, no matter how significant or spiritually powerful it is," said Moshe Levy, a father of 10 from the West Bank settlement of Shiloh, who plans to celebrate Lag B'Omer locally this year.
For many secular and national religious Jews, Lag B'Omer holds relatively minor significance, with children and families enjoying bonfires on the eve, marking the 33rd day of the Omer – the 49 days separating Passover from Shavuot. However, the occasion carries major importance for Haredi Jews, as the Talmud links it to a plague that claimed thousands of Rabbi Akiva's students, one of the greatest early rabbinical figures executed by the Romans for teaching the Torah. The plague purportedly ended on Lag B'Omer.
Apprehensions persist that numerous pilgrims may defy the ban on attending the pilgrimage in Meron and Tiberias, whose municipality also prohibited Lag B'Omer celebrations at Rabbi Akiva's gravesite due to safety concerns. On May 25, the annual Lag B'Omer festivities did occur, but on a significantly scaled-down level at Mount Meron, with only 30 people permitted entry at any given time.
Video: Police spokesperson
The relocation decision arrives as authorities grapple with the aftermath of the 2021 Meron crowd crush tragedy that claimed 45 lives. A planned memorial event for the victims in Jerusalem has been canceled due to a lack of funding from the Finance Ministry, drawing condemnation from bereaved families.
Boaz Strakovsky, whose son Elhanan perished in the 2021 stampede, decried the cancellation as an "insult" to victims' families. "If there's money for security at the alternative Lag B'Omer event in Jerusalem, why not for the commemoration?" he told The Times of Israel, adding that organizing an alternative celebration in Jerusalem "makes it even more incomprehensible."
David Stav, an Orthodox rabbi chairing the Tzohar rabbinical group, said the decision to cancel the Jerusalem memorial was "very difficult to understand." However, Stav affirmed holding a Lag B'Omer event in Sheikh Jarrah is "perfectly legitimate."
The Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Ministry's budget included an NIS 11 million allocation for the canceled Meron event. Karmasky stated that almost the entire Meron budget aimed to fund a police operation preventing pilgrims from reaching the site. The event at Shimon HaTzadik's grave will cost approximately NIS 2 million to produce, according to Karmasky.
