This past Lag B'Omer a terrible disaster took place at Mount Meron in which 45 adults and children were suffocated and trampled to death and over 150 participants in the event were injured. A night that should have been an expression of pure joy turned into a nightmare. What began with the lighting of a bonfire ended with a huge conflagration.
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Reality demands a government investigative committee. Those who are no longer with us cannot be resurrected, but for the sake of preparing for large events in the future, as well as inculcating the basic concept of personal responsibility, a committee is vital. It is also clear that the new government's underlying motive for establishing the committee is political in nature, a type of calculation with which the Israeli public is familiar.
But the bereaved families are entitled to know the full facts that led to their inconceivable grief, and all the country's citizens are entitled to see the issue of responsibility for and institutionalization of large-scale events codified.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut's selection of the committee members entails a combination of sensitivity and wisdom. Miriam Naor, who was named head of the committee, is well-known for her hard work and efficacy; Rabbi Mordechai Karelitz – who hails from the Haredi sector and who has management experience – can give voice to the particular sensitivities of a population that sometimes feels, rightly, that they are accused for every problem; and Maj. Gen. (res.) Shlomo Yanai is well aware of the importance of leaders taking responsibility and orders being followed.
According to law, the investigative committee is not required to conduct itself according to court procedures, which lengthen debates and make them into legal torture. It is crucial that the committee take appropriate, quick action without neglecting to clarify the facts. The committee must submit its recommendations as soon as possible. The sooner that happens, the more effective they will be and the greater its contribution to society will be.
Based on past experience, the media – and the public, on its heels – will focus mainly on the committee's recommendations about individual job-holders. Only a few will consider systemic recommendation, which are more important to preventing future disasters like this one. Everyone involved in the decision-making process that preceded the Meron events must cooperate so the facts can be determined. The government's test isn't in establishing the committee, but its willingness to adopt the committee's recommendations, before they turn into dead ink on the pile of official Israeli committees of inquiry.
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