Like Rosh Hashanah in Uman, the crowd heading to Meron for Lag B’Omer appears to be growing with each passing year. Some wonder how much the Lag B’Omer event costs. The Ministry of Tourism allocated 26 million NIS.
Zaka founder and CEO Yehuda Meshi-Zahav reports that his memories of Lag B’Omer in Meron date back to his childhood, 52 years ago. He explains he recalls being in Meron annually since being a small boy. He feels the people responsible for the annual event are not doing what they should. He uses the example of the upcoming visit of the pope and the advanced preparations that are in place for the papal visit while regarding Meron on Lag B’Omer remains a fiasco.
“There are weekly preparations for sporting events. Tens of thousands attend and the event flows because of organization. A half year after an event no one can detect tens of thousands were there. Regarding Meron on the other hand, l’havdil elef alfei havdolos, there is the annual event on the same day and year after year we see the collapse of the entire system” explains Meshi-Zahav.
He feels the preparations focus around “a few hundred well connected people and regarding the remainder, it is left to be what it will be”.
The Ministry of Tourism allocated 26 million shekels for the event. He questions where the money goes. “How many additional shaded areas are added? I am there annually and see very little change and we see the red hot faces of mispallalim making their way year after year. How many water faucets are installed at Asra Kadisha and how many restrooms are made available. What is being done there?”
He feels it is intentional, to permit the chareidi masses to arrive and suffer in quiet. He blames the fact that a single person is not appointed to oversee the event, to take charge ad shoulder the responsibility. “In a chassidus there is one general and the soldiers act as instructed but in Meron, everyone does as he sees fit. The Committee of Five, the Committee of Rabbonim, the Tourism Ministry, the Center for Holy Sites and the Hachnasas Orchim, each doing its own thing”.
“Can someone explain to me why one Hachnasas Orchim has taken charge of the entrance to the tziyun and only permits its donators to enter under pleasant condition? Can someone explain to me who determined the order of lighting? Who gets in and who does not? Even regarding the band – this too is a monopoly. This is the dream of every musician, to play in Meron. They all come voluntarily. No one asks for remuneration. So who decides who gets to play and who does not, for how long and in what order?”
Meshi-Zahav continues and question how the money is allocated and seems to disappear. He speaks of the bridge for kohanim, asking why. He explains for years kohanim attended without a bridge and suddenly this is mandatory. He feels the money should be allocated to provide better conditions for the large crowd of participants. The money is spent without any supervision he explains, and there are no government tenders, simply handing over the budget and it vanishes.
He adds that last year he worked to bring the IDF in to supply water so people would not collapse from the heat, questioning how the current situation is permitted to exist as it does.
He explains in actuality the budget is 7 million NIS and the ministry kicked in a onetime allocation of 26 million NIS to improve the site. Some of the funds were spent for new metal grandstands (7 million NIS), improving the sewage infrastructure to accommodate the large volume of visitors (2.5 million NIS), and new generators (2 million NIS). These expenses were approved by the ministry.
Regarding water in parking lots, that is officially outside of the mandate of the management of the tziyun so it is ignored. Mesh-Zahav feels the bus companies are making enough money that they should be compelled to kick in towards providing water.
Regarding restrooms, there are 100 permanent and 40 movable in addition to 200 chemical toilets. This is done in line with the guidelines from the Ministry of Health, with the latter sending professionals to the site to oversee operations to approve the conditions.
Meshi-Zahav explains there must be one agency overseeing the entire operating, having the responsibility and authority to make the critical decisions towards avoiding the annual fiasco that is synonymous with Lag B’Omer at the Rashbi.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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4 Responses
26 million shekels is not bird feed. Thank the Ministry of Tourism for the funds& start local bonfires instead. Start. Minhag to visit the kever the entire month of IYAR & reduce the hassles.
So
you ignore the pleadings of the Rabbanut to postpone to prevent Chillul Shabbos (something that R’ Ovadiah Yosef alwasy signed onto)
you don’t acknowledge the government
you don’t pay taxes
you don’t particulate in society
BUT
you demand that the government fund a quasi holiday that has no mekor is shas or rishonim and was thought to be questionable according to the Chasam Sofer?
and you want to know why you are ignored?
Reb Yehuda, I don’t question your sincerity in your work on behalf of the klal, We all appreciate the hard work you preform for all of us.
Regarding this lag baomer. While there is nothing straight from the govt perspective, and your critism is probably a bulls eye, there are many other things which do have a history of the way things work. For instance, there is a concept of chazakah, that is accepted by all (except those who want to barge in and take control where they don’t belong, without following the precedent.) For instance, the musicians are yearly time slots working via chazakah. It is not the hachnasat orchim who decide who plays, and what time allocation they get. I have many friends who go yearly to keep their chazakah. This is the niceness of it. We have all seen how the govt works when they get in the way. Bureaucracy never works when govt is involved. We all know there is this chazakah the boyan rav has to light the bonfire, This was a yerusha he inherited and almost everybody accepted it. (almost cause there are always others vying for any kovod and will try forcing their way in.) Many of the rabbonim who accepted this do light their own bonfires on the other side, other times, etc. as their parents etc did prior to the founding of the state of israel. Fact: the state as proven here does not care about the orthodox. They will gladly give it away to the palestinians. Good example: they claim to be the representatives for the holocaust funds…. Ask your elderly relatives, This state of israel is the main beneficiary of these funds with a drop trickling down to the actual survivors. They always manage to barge in, force their agenda on everyone. My advice, keep them out of the actual holiday as much as possible. Security we need them, bussing we need them, infrastructure we need as well, etc. But NOT for anything else.
“and only permits its donators to enter under pleasant condition”?
Gee, what a shocking revelation.
I knew the whole Meron “religion” was a fraud! You have all these so called “Organizations” “collecting” “funds” for food & drink, to be “distributed” to “all” the visitors.
Let me ask you a question. When you take your family to a park, do you expect to get free Kosher food & drink when you arrive? If you are a normal and responsible Parent, don’t you bring along enough supplies for your Family? Why is this Meron religion any different? It amazes me how these gullible naïve people, throw away Tzidaka/maaser money at these so called “Organizations” for the return of a blessing that all their problems will just fly away. Anunei Ircha Kodem!