Violent conflicts broke out at Meron on Thursday afternoon after dozens of extremists began pushing themselves into the site against police orders and the police lost control of the situation.
The extremists broke some of the barriers and checkpoints set up by the police and some of them managed to make their way into the tzion itself and the clashes continued inside. The police were forced to evacuate women and children from the tzion for their safety.
Eventually, hundreds of extremists took over the site and broke down the carefully arranged passageways to the tzion. The police removed all barriers from the tzion to avoid overcrowding and begged people to leave the site due to the danger of overcrowding.
Police responded with out of control violence, viciously assaulting unarmed people at random. Some videos not shown below, show police throwing people to the ground, choking them, punching them in the faces, and other violence never used on unarmed people.
In the wake of the violence, the police closed the site altogether and thousands of people, many of whom have already been waiting for hours in the heat at parking lots, will not be allowed into the site. Buses toward Meron were ordered to turn around.
The incident is especially unfortunate as Lag B’Omer almost passed without any ugly incidents despite the long waiting periods, lines, and the intense heat.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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65 Responses
time for the police again and again to see that they shouldn’t fight with the Charidim Reb שמעון will not stay quiet when who go against him, interesting to see that in this this same day the coalition is starting to crumble
It’s always those few that mess it up for the rest…
And then they will post in all the chiloni papers “the chareidim” when it’s only a few.
curious as to why you call them “extremists” they are just chareidim like you and me… with no regard for civil law. and apparently last year is just a distant memory to all of them.
To the extremists at YWN who probably are too coward to print this, Read this:
Aryeh Erlich, an editor of Mishpacha magazine, tweeted that “police decided to eliminate the Rashbi festivities. They took off the music, closed the tomb, stopped the buses on the way to Meron. The courtyard is empty, the tomb is empty and hundreds and thousands of Jews are distressed and helpless. Commander Lavi and Police Commissioner Shabtai, this is not safety, this is evil and criminal. Jews want to be by Rashbi- protect them, don’t strangle them!”
IM NOT understanding this line : “The incident is especially unfortunate as Lag B’Omer almost passed without any ugly incidents despite the long waiting periods, lines, and the intense heat.” THIS WHOLE SYSTEM OF NOT LETTING PEOPLE IN AND EVERYTHING THEY DID TO MERON IS A PEACE OF UGLY! I JUST CAME BACK FROM THERE ITS SO DEVASTATING WHAT THEY DO FOR POWER AND DICTATORSHIP! YEMECH SHEMOM! ALL IN THE NAME OF SO CALLED SAFETY!
FORGOT TO ADD WHATS DESPITE? LIKE ITS TOTALLY NORMAL : despite the long waiting periods lines for intense heat.. #woke. WHAT HAPPENED TO KLAL YISROEL?! AZOIVE SE GOISHT ZICH AZOI YIDDISHED ZICH! LEIDER
To rc: your comment begs this question: what does Halacha tell us to do in situations where too many people are trying to get into too little space? Surely Halacha tells us something on the matter and has requirements that would have prevented the tragedy that happened last year at Meron.
Extremists? Realy? the police had no issue locking the place for an hour and allowing no one in. they had the audacity to leave people in the busses for up to 10 hours. Extremists? what a shame to call them that.
I thought for a minute the police really meant a peaceful law and order, but the extremists that kept on saying that “the police just wants to take control of the place” proved to be right!
You’re complaining about the police?
If anything, they have too much restraint.
Did you see the first video, with a woman pulling the hair of a policewoman — and then coming at her again (while holding a child, no less)?
Is there any other country in the world whose police force would stand for this?
Is there any other country in the world where someone like this would not be charged for assaulting a police officer, let alone be immediately smashed to the ground?
No, the problem is that the extremists KNOW that they can assault police officers and soldiers, yet get away with it (for the most part).
Were the police to act towards them as any other police force would act towards those who assault them, the extremists would not dream of touching them, as they’d be facing serious jail time (months or years).
What a Hillul Shem Shanayim ! Rav Shimon wants people to riot on his Yahrzeit ??
We all know what the Hilonim are thinking – Why not let the Haredim run loose and then maybe they will all trample each other? Hashem Yishmor
Yes please had to shut it down because of some uncivilized human filth that always manage to destroy it for everybody
Sorry @shlomo 2 you are so wrong! Were you there?! there is no country in the world that the police act so un human to people! Didn’t you see in that same video how they beaten up a lil teenager?! And what do you think he had done? Probably crossing the fence without permission or throwing down the fence.. you don’t beat up a Young Boy or anyone to death for such a thing! I was there and just came back, I was never so against the police as I am now they’re only there to dictate people and it has nothing to do with safety! Witnessed it with my own eyes!
With respect to Aryeh Ehrlich, he saw the police turning away people and buses, he didn’t see that everything that had been carefully put in place to keep people safe had been destroyed. Yoikel you can yell in caps lock but the concern was safety not as you put it “so called safety”.
How quickly we forget. After the moving scene of the Boyanner Rebbe lighting 45 yahrtzeit candles and davening for refuah for two young boys who remain unresponsive a year later, you have the audacity to say yemach shemam to the people trying to avoid further tragedies?
Apparently many just want to cheer at political issues happening this day and conveniently forget the tragedy by Rabbi שמעון just a year ago on this same day.
We don’t know what’s decided in Shamayim. We need to behave like human beings and respect the sanctity of our own lives and the lives of others.
Extremist’s is too polite of a word, call them out what they really are, murderous ignorant savages, who need to be locked up either in a penitentiary or a insane asylum for the criminally insane.
These are the same animals who are responsible for last years catastrophe.
Police have warned for years,that the insane overcrowding going on every year is a disaster waiting to happen, and it happened.
Haven’t these savages learned anything from last years disaster.
My question to all the Rabbonim Rebbes Roshe Yeshivas, WHY DONT YOU STOP THIS INSANITY?
Why don’t you tell everyone TO STAY HOME.
Does RASHBI really want this insanity and circus every year,where people put their lives in danger, wouldn’t he want instead that everyone stay home and learn a PEREK MISHNAHOS for his NESHAMA.
Have you noticed that all the real GEDOLIM like the CHAZON ISH, the STEIPLER Rav SCHACH Reb CHAIM etc, they never went to MERON on LAG B’OMER ,for the simple reason that it has turned into nothing but a big circus.and wanted nothing to do with it.
It’s high time for the GEDOLIM to put a stop to this insanity.
I Think that its Time For the YWN to stop being EXTREMISTS ZIONIST,
I think its a shame that a such a platform like this should write the words extremists when it comes to meron, were every single Jew feels something to it its nothing to do with extremists its a feeling to r ‘ shimen,
and the government closes a such a place for the public what is open already for so many years that’s a disaster and that’s y every one fights for it
BARUCH HASHEM!!! I will take this over last years tragedy. If brothers want to fight with each other, then they will. Its a sign of immaturity to be sure, and probably why Moshiach hasnt arrived yet, but we are still brothers. Its the Satan who is playing with us and unfortunately we are weak. May we be zocheh to better years but none like last year.
The incident is especially unfortunate as Lag B’Omer almost passed without any ugly incidents “despite” the long waiting periods, lines, and the intense “heat”.
WHOEVER WROTE THAT PEICE SHOULD BE FIRED
SMALL CHILDREN LEFT PURPOSELY “YES PREVIOUSLY PLANED” ON HOT BUSES WITH NO ACCESS TO BATHROOM, WATER, FOOD, “BASICS”,
AND YES THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT LISTENED TO THEIR SAFETY GUIDLINES AND PURCHASED TICKETS
@YWN
PLEASE HAVE YOUR EDITOR FIRED
Solution: state of israel, admit you have no shlita cuz you’re sick not frum reshaim. Approach the rabbanim bhachnaa and offer to pay for private security services without police but with bouncer power. Offer this behachnaa as a way to protect everyone. Have everyone get behind you and make rules published as Kol koreis that do not mention the sick invalid state. Shalom al yisroel.
And definitely don’t do all the sick things you did as delineated in the other articles on this site about the police atrocities this year in meron. Go to hell.
Shlomo 2 you are really ignorant. You call manhandling a boy restraint? You are cop worshipper? I hope and pray it all happens to you someday.
Israeli police are the lowest creatures. may they all rot in hell.
Why does YWN always have the need to turn the story against charidem ?
Yes, the meron visitors we’re shocked by the lousy plan of the police not letting people daven inside or dance outside , not to mention people sitting on busess for 6 to 7 hours , when it used to take 2- 3 ( they only permitted busses )
I mean after all you wanted to cater the event for charidim , yet after a year of planning , that’s all they came up with ?
so yes they broke thru , and police left the site only going down the mountain , trying to at least restrain more people coming up , so for now tfilos is once again heard inside the marreh and music and dance in the chutzer , like all years , no violence , beautiful videos are now circulating of the joyous atmosphere at the mareh in contrast to the videos in the morning seeing police officers eating pizza inside the marreh
Unfortunate ? people are actually celebrating
How about such headline, after a lous start , the music , dance, and tfilos are back in the marrah to the excitement of the thousands
Please don’t start the safety shmooz now , everybody agrees we need safety but apparently the needs of the visitors we’re totally not considered so, here we are
“The incident is especially unfortunate as Lag B’Omer almost passed without any ugly incidents despite the long waiting periods, lines, and the intense heat”.
For the people getting upset, it’s called satire. They are making fun of the government and police who organized the situation and are hinting that it was badly organized. Why are we at the point where we have to explain these things?
At the Bais HaMikdash at Pesach it discribes guards at the entrances with sticks keeping people from entering due to crowding. It looks like nothing has changed. At least the police are doing the holy work of keeping people safe, while these Meshuganah Charedim are still acting like Beheimos.
Where are the videos with the holy people throwing full water bottles at the police? Or when they took the gates at the back of the Tzion and threw then down the stairs? These are animals and as happens more often than not they ruined it for everyone else. We tolerate their behavior. We support their behavior when they protest and block the streets that everyone has a right to use. This is on us. The last point; The mountain is closed because Magen David Adom (MADA) wouldn’t put up with the abuse they were taking and left. How many more need to die before these animals will learn how to behave?
The police got what they wanted … a chance to beat up some charedim. A few charedim fell for the police’s extreme provocation — overly controlling to the point of shutting down a religious site. Bravo zionism!
bH, the kever has been liberated from the Romanisch occupation forces. May they liberate Yerushalaim next or lay siege to the ir nidachas TLV. Every one of those mamzerim in uniform that took orders (or acted on their own) to assault and batter Yiddin for attempting mitzvos during the shas hashmad, may their abominable genetic experimental doses prove effective.
I have never seen people acting like this a year after 45 kedoshim pass away. You think this is what R Shimon wanted when he wanted people to come…..
It makes sense to have some rules but not all the way like this….
But then the few Jews that always act like this and cause fights and just to get in to pray……
Just stop and pray where you are for a second and think what you are doing fighting your way in…
The police are just doing what they need to do to try and keep it safe I’m personally related to one of the people that passed away last year and this is not what they wanted to see a year later!!!
Shame on you and this is disturbing to see. Jews fighting like that just to get in and a chillul Hashem!!
@shlomo 2 whats your point the natzis also exhibited “restaint” these police are wrong for being there. And noch tzu they are hurting chareidim…
The masses have all the right and obligation in the world to beat these reshoyim to a pulp, enough cowardice to natzis!
I was there. You don’t even know how senseless, cruel and babyish the police were behaving, especially at the women’s section. Yelling and screaming already when there were few people there.
It felt like a drive thru. Walk, walk, walk. Not allowed to dance, not allowed to cry, not allowed to spend time there.
NOT MY JUDAISM!!!
mosheyankel, thanks to people who think like you the Meron tragedy happened last year. There is nothing, NOTHING meritorious about these hooligans’ behavior, in this case, and in many many other cases. Their behavior causes people to hate Hashem, hate the Torah, and hate people like me, who have absolutely nothing to do with these thugs, but are put into the same basket. Textbook definition of chillul Hashem, which has no Kappara until death. Shame on you, do teshuvah.
I went last night waited for hours in parking lots it took over 6 hours from Yerushalayim! The place was empty the police are just trying to stop another Helige Minhag of klal yisroel!! The people breaking in are not extremists at all just regular people trying to go to meron to daven and celebrate! The YWN is a disgrace for calling them EXTERMISTS and siding with the RESHAIM! They had more police there then I’ve seen anywhere in my entire life! FOR what to fight against Yahdus and against R’ Shimon YOVO HAYOM VEYITEN HADIN! VESHEIM HATZIYONIM YIRKAV!
Do stupid things, win stupid prizes. Like getting clubbed, punched, and tossed into the back of a police van. No sympathy here for hooligans and criminals.
YWN, please post videos of R’ Meilich Biederman’s hadlakah. They say over 20k people were there. Most of whom you categorize as ‘extremists’. Not one policeman was there. There was no violence, no injury, no pushing, no traumatized children. FYI
To all my dear warm friends,
Please Please Please say Tehillim for two young boys that are still in the hospital or rehab from the Meron tragedy (2021). They both can not walk or talk. I am also saying Tehillim.
Elazar Ben Raumah
יוסף עזריאל בן חיה מיכל—
I am 100% positive that Hashem will give you more time on this world.
We do not have to worry that if we say Tehillim, we are losing time and it is costing us money.
Hashem will give us extra Parnassa and we will also merit a longer healthier life.
Please we should all say Tehillim.
Disgusting. These people are the erev rav.
These black clothed people are desecrating g-ds name
If there were people who started trouble, they are not tzaddikim and not to be commended. They are obligated by halacha to care for the safety and welfare of others as well as to obey the law.
There is no mitzvah to go to the kever of the Rashbi, if you want to participate, you must do so under the rules, if you don’t like the rules- stay home.
Ask the families of the 45 a’h if they are opposed to the setup and rules.
Israeli Gestapo officers.
I’m appalled to see the commenters blaming the police and saying nasty things about them. And for YWN and Mishpacha for doing so as well.
I’m a neighbor of a family that lost a son last year in Meron. Last year everyone blamed the police for just letting chareidim do what they want and not exerting proper control. So now you’re going to blame police for shutting down Meron when people are blatantly destroying the safety infrastructure???
I take back the reference in my previous comment to Mishpacha, as apparently, Aryeh Erlich of Mishpacha has actually commended the police for their conduct.
@Shlomo 2
Is there any other country that would allow army forces in riot gear to enter a holy site (think church, mosque)?????
Even in Israel, what would happen it this would take place in a mosque? Everyone would yell at the desecration of a holy site.
Somehow when it comes to Rabbi Shimon, where your brothers and sisters are getting attacked by what you would only hope the Arabs get, you seem to take the side of a bunch of ruthless brutal police officers who you can see in their faces the hate they have towards us.
Shameful.
Solomon 2:
Did you see those “police” dragging away that young man? Maybe that was his mother? Or a Jewish woman who has compassion on Jews, unlike (as it seems) yourself.
The Zionist police are brutal to the innocent Jews there, like no other country.
There are so many incidents. Just search Israeli Police Brutality on any Jewish news site.
I don’t particularly like Israeli police and the violence they bring upon religious Jews, but Chevre look
CHAREDI WOMEN ON SIDELINE USEING THEIR BABIES TO SHEILD THEIR HITTING THE POLICE WOMEN AND PULLING THEIR HAIR?
WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM AND HAMAS IN GAZA?
ON WHO’S ORDER DID THIS SECT OF ANIMALS DESECRATED THE HOLY RESTING PLACE OF RASHBI?
WHOEVER ORDERED,
ORGANIZED,
PARTICIPATED IN DESTRUCTION OF THE SITE MUST BE PROCECUTED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT OF LAW.
What’s the difference between these animals and the animals that destroy hospitals?
What’s mentally wrong with these Jews? No better the Arab terrorist !!!!
All these people you call extremists!
Hear something you did not know!
They (yes almost all of them) lived in the Land of Israel before the wicked state took over the Holy Land.
They are fighting against the continued takeover of the horrible chilonim
the chilonim should go be busy with their own dirt
they and only they are to be blamed on what happend last year
You would not be saying . . .
“Police responded with out of control violence, viciously assaulting unarmed people at random. Some videos not shown below, show police throwing people to the ground, choking them, punching them in the faces, and other violence never used on unarmed people”
. . . if these had been lawless blacks rioting and destroying property in an American city. After dozens of people died last year, the police and the rules were there to protect the population, including the ungrateful so-called “Chareidim.” These lawless rioters are not “Chareidim” by any means. They deserve whatever the police dished out, and more.
The Zionist police are brutal to the innocent Jews there, like no other country.
@golfer If the Israeli police is so professional they should of known what’s goanna happen and they were not papered for this. In the beginning they left the seen. and they made the danger much more than if they would cooperate with the charadim.
Shlomo 2; did you see why the mother the mother pulling a police ladys hair? they are dragging her son? how can a mother watch that happen to her son?
It’s amazing that after the churban of last year, these Chareidim still haven’t learned anything.
They should have stayed clear from this area as to not have a repeat again.
I watched the videos and unfortunately the police had no alternatives other than to use this type of force when you are dealing with an element that doesn’t care about the law.
Time and time again, its the same pictures all the time- Extremists battling the police!
Even after the Rabbis please with the people not to go to Meron, they continue to disobey orders and look for trouble.
Any one of the above comments that says the police were only there to keep everyone safe was obviously NOT IN MERON, so you shouldn’t pretend like you have any idea of what was going on based on what you read or see online.
Another point: To call other Jews — especially those who keep Torah and mitzvos — “animals” or “beheimos” is very scary. That’s exactly what the Nazi’s called us. . .
Lastly: We must remember that the Meron celebrations have been taking place without any police or goverment intervention for decades without any casualties. Last year, the reshaim got involved by severly limiting the hadlakos — which forced everyone into one area — and then closing it off. Whether that’s shogeg or mezid I’m not sure, but one thing is clear: EVERYTHING WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST FINE WITHOUT THEM GETTING INVOLVED!
Therefore, the erlicher charedim who, baruch Hashem, had the azus dekedusha to follow the tradition of their ancestors and dance and celebrate by the tziyun should be praised. i left just before this happened, and I wish that I had the guts to do what they did. I imagine that this is similar to how Matisyahu kohen gadol and his 12 sons conquered the Yevanim.
what some commentators are forgetting, or just never knew, is that the POLICE’S actions last year caused (=was Hashemn’s shluchim) the 45 tragedies last year.
LMO if you find my comment above or if you’ve ever read any of my comments you’ll know I’m very much against calling any human being except the most vile terrorist or psychopath an animal or a beheima. I can agree with you that we should never call a fellow Jew such names. I wonder how you feel, since you seem to consider yourself familiar with the atrocities of the Nazis yemach shmom, about Jews calling fellow Jews in mishtara uniforms “Nazim” and if you feel there is any excuse for that. Even if a particular member of the police is of a different religion I find it inexcusable, and if you were as knowledgeable as you’re pretending to be you’d think so too. You are tragically wrong about last year as well but I’ll leave that to others.
Women using their kids as human shields! It should be published in all newspapers. They’re acting just like the Arabs!
Of course, the police needed as many police officers as people visiting the site!!! And it wasn’t even enough because the people gained control!
I think those idiotic people should be stripped of Israeli citizenship. If you want to live in a country you gotta follow its laws!
Anyone who was not there has absolutely no right to comment. Do you think you have a full or unbiased picture based on the videos shown here?
When those extremist rioters stormed into the tzion why did they sing Bar Yochai??? They didn’t do anything for Rabbi Shimon, they did it for their own interests. They should be screaming Black lives matter or Allah Akbar!!! They did it for their own selfish reasons!!!
@Shlomo 2
When the Arabs are rioting the police stand by, they don’t pull them, throw them down and punch them o no the faces. The police never treat the charedim like human, the Charedim do what they do out of frustration.
The hatred that the police have towards the charedim is disgusting.
הוי מתפלל בשלומה של מלכות, שאלמלא מוראה, איש את רעהו חיים בלעו
Doing your own thing, and thinking you know best leads to anarchy.
If you want to live in a civilised society and be treated like adults, then start behaving like adults.
I agree that calling a police officer a Nazi is also a big mistake, since the Nazi’s were decedents of Amalek — Esav, and the Jews are decendants of Yaakov. The proper name, which is agreed upon by most of the gedolim, is “erev rav,” since these wicked people did get mixed in with the Jewish people.
its interesting how we in the USA far away from the scene weigh in with our “dayos”
your article seems to put the blame on the charedim and is very one sided against the charedim
yet from speaking to people who were actually their and lived thru it and were witness to it, its a totally different picture then the way your article painted it.
95 % of the people who were their purchased and paid for “TICKETS” as advertised anyone without a ticket wouldnt be allowed to come. these people took a 3-4 hour trip with tickets in hand, yet were turned away. this was the system put in place by the israeli govt but failed, that is until the charedim took over and then things went smoothly much smoother then when the govt snake system(very apropos name)broke down. all entrances and accessways were fully opened and a spur of the moment askonim ushered people in and out of the building and things worked out very well
what you saw and showed in the videos were totally absolute chaos as a result of the GOVT FAILED PLAN and now you can understand why the charedim dont trust the govt and specifically the israeli police.
Is this a 3rd world country ?is this the way you treat ordinary unarmed citizens? if this took place here in the usa their would be major law suits against the police dept. yet in israel charedim are beat everyday and it doesnt get headlines or press your article doesnt help the charedi position and if anything it seems who ever wrote it gathered his info from the secular press and didnt bother to do his homework
a clarification and apology should set this straight
YWN strikes again with its sheer ignorance and its cop worship. You guys are the lowest.
SHAMEON YOU!! Filthy! Disgusting! Cold blooded! Heinous! Barbaric!
I don’t see the Neturei karta as chanferers to terrorists anymore. This writer and his likes are.
Brutality! You didn’t see the videos before you uploaded them?!?! Shame on you! You’re a disgrace on Klal Yisrael! A police attempt at kidnapping a young child from his mothers arms, that doesn’t remind you of 1940’s?!?! Are you not embarrassed to upload such incriminating damning and obviously heinous and cold blooded crimes committed by Isre-helli police and go on to accuse the accused?!
Maybe you should try your hands at being a dumpster worker. Garbage is a good synonym for the likes of you.
Get lost!!