Undoubtedly, chareidi lawmakers in particular will be audible regarding the failures of different agencies regarding transportation to and from Meron for Lag B’Omer 5777.
A year has not passed with angry chareidi response, but in fact, even if everything ran as it should, the roads leading to and from Meron are not capable of handling hundreds of thousands in such a short period of time. That said, there is no excuse for the disgrace that took place this year and many travelers walked miles, getting off buses and making the was to Meron on foot.
In the other direction, mispallalim were pushed into an area by police mounted units, at times literally waiting hours for empty buses to arrive. There is testimony from drivers of Ezer Mizion and others, explaining police showed absolutely no sympathy to the disabled passengers on board the vans, which had permits to drive to Meron. Nevertheless, officers along the route decided they have the right to override the permits, blocking the vans.
There may be a government committee, a probe of sorts, exchanges of accusations between ministers, and of course, Egged’s spokesman will explain how the company performed admirably under the most difficult of conditions. MK Moshe Gafne already told the press “We appear to be a third world nation” based on the performance of police and transportation companies.
Bottom line is that since Lag B’Omer in Meron is viewed primarily as servicing the chareidi community; and therefore, nothing is going to change despite the fact it is the single largest annual Jewish gathering in the world.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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7 Responses
Just stay home and live a normal life
Why would the government really care about this annual chaos at Meron. During the rest of the year, we have episode after episode where Chareidim vandalize Eged buses and for months we read almost every other day about Auerbach and the other “Peleg rabbonim encouraging their followers disrupt routine bus traffic for over hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have to ter to “work for a living” and then get home to their families. It actually brings a smile to see one day a year we have the “revenge of normal Israelis” watch a bit of suffering on the part of their Chareidi brethren.
I beg to differ!
I dont tink it is correct that we ash the systems year in year out
I open YWN yesterday morning and based on the news I was apprehensive about going to meron, in the end I follwed my heart and I went. I am so happy I did, so happy I didnt heed the news….
True there was traffice but yes the roads to meron were not designed to hold so many thousands of people, the police were working overtime around the clock keeping the place under control, having been there last in 2013 I was quite nervous to go again because that year was scary but I iwll say this year was like not comparable to that year, it was efficient and smooth and yes one did have to wait FIVE minutes on the way out to get a bus, but if everyone wouldnt push like animals…… those pushing obviously missed the point of lag baomer and sefiras haomer and perhaps should stay home and work on their animalistic behaviors, to be a klit o receive the torah…..
Mr. Gadolhadorah,,
Can you explain me please, as to where CHAREIDIM come in to the picture here, are CHAREIDIM the only travellers to miron on Lag baomer?
the whole system collapsed on everyone, not that i’ve expected otherwise
I didn’t have any problem 2 years ago – we couldn’t get on one bus, but got on the next – apart from a few obnoxious teens, everyone was respectful and civilized. And I was using my cane, so I was offered a seat. Having said that, I wouldn’t go again; I think the entire experience is not for me! Kol Hakovod to the organizers, medics, police etc, they DO have their hands full.
One thought, though: why don’t they have separate buses for men & women? We get shunted to the back on public, city buses because it isn’t tzanuah to have men and women near each other, but look at the photos here. They are all but sitting on top of each other.
To Chymee:
If you read the lead line of the article, it talks about the Chareidi MKs as the ones who will complain about the failure of the transportation system to adequately serve their constituents. My point was simple: Those same MKs seem to be unable or unwilling year-around to quash the disruptions and chaos some of their own constituents are imposing on the rest of the tzibur so don’t expect for the government to suddenly show great empathy for a one-time disruption. Its unfortunate that some non-chareidi participants at Meron were also inconvenienced.