BBC News
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media caption Yedidya, to my great sorrow, did not survive
A national day of mourning is being held in Israel after a crush at a Jewish festival early on Friday that killed 45 men and boys.
Some 150 people were injured at the Lag B Omer festival, near Mount Meron in northern Israel, when they became trapped in an overcrowded passageway.
Up to 100,000 mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews were present at the gathering.
All of the victims have now been identified. There are 12 teenagers and children among them.
Flags on all public buildings have been lowered to half-mast, and concerts and sports events postponed.
45, 45, 45. 45.
Meron. A place of mysticism, of leaping flames, mass crowds, music and prayer. Lag BaOmer, a day to commemorate Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s legacy, by coming to his kever. A day where even the skeptics among us pay homage to the mystical and celebrate the light of the Torah.
If you would have asked me before Friday morning what images I associated with Mount Meron, I would have described to you what I had seen in the official Meron livestream I watched on Thursday night. A sea of swaying figures in black, singing and dancing with joyous fervor, highlighted against the glow of the bonfires. A scene both fascinating and foreign to me.
Israel crush: Day of mourning after dozens killed at Jewish festival bbc.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bbc.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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4 Americans believed killed in festival stampede in Israel
Ultra-Orthodox Jews mourn during the funeral of Moshe Ben Shalom at a cemetery in Petah Tikva, Israel, Friday, April 30, 2021. Moshe Ben Shalom and dozens of others died during a stampede at a religious festival attended by tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Mount Meron, northern Israel, early Friday. It was one of the country s deadliest civilian disasters. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)