Who’s responsible for the Meron disaster?
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Who’s responsible for the Meron disaster?
No single factor is to blame. A perfect storm of elements simultaneously came together, exposing a system filled with flaws many of them cultural in nature.
(May 2, 2021 / JNS) Israel’s largest religious festival turned into its largest peacetime tragedy late Thursday night, as 45 celebrants were crushed to death, and dozens more were injured, under the feet of fellow worshippers in a horrific stampede at Mount Meron.
The annual Lag B’Omer pilgrimage commemorating the teachings of one of Judaism’s greatest mystics, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, has been marked for centuries by festive music and bonfires. The bonfires symbolize the great spiritual light that his teachings have brought to the world, as well as the souls’ yearning to connect to their Creator. This year, however, awe-inspiring light turned to unthinkable darkness.
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Who is Responsible For The Deadly Stampede in Israel? Published May 2nd, 2021 - 05:01 GMT
People light candles during a vigil in Habima Square in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv on May 1, 2021,in the aftermath of a deadly stampede in a northern Jewish pilgrimage town. The the overnight disaster killed at least 45 people at an Orthodox Jewish pilgrimage site, one of the nation s worst peacetime disasters. JACK GUEZ / AFP
Highlights
In total, 45 people were killed as worshippers tripped and fell on a packed staircase at Mount Meron on Thursday.
A British man has today been named as among the victims of a stampede at a Jewish pilgrimage site that tragically left 45 people dead after hundreds of worshippers became trapped in an overcrowded passageway in Israel.
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