According to a HaMevaser report, the actions of police in Meron on Lag B’Omer resulting in undue hardships for Gedolei Torah, who in many cases were not permitted to pass checkpoints in private vehicles, and even compelled to wait for hours to make their way to Meron. In some cases, the Gedolim were compelled to travel on shuttle vehicles, barred from entering in private vehicles.
Officials are angered, explaining “we are talking about those Gedolim for whom arrangements were made in advance, yet when they arrived at checkpoints, the drivers were told the license number does not appear and therefore, they were not permitted to pass”.
A number of MKs stated that “Police are well-equipped to extend courtesies and honor to Christian and Muslim clerics but seem incapable of doing so for rabbonim”.
It appears the problem was more during the nighttime and early morning hours, the peak traffic hours, but most rabbonim and admorim were permitted to enter during the afternoon hours.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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4 Responses
Perhaps the police were in the wrong here, to be honest I don’t really know.
But as a more general question, why is it so horrific that the rabbonim were forced to…gasp…travel with the lowly masses, or on shuttle vehicles?
#1, what is wrong with the President …gasp… traveling with everyone else on a plane or train. But I’m sure you understand that it wouldn’t be right. Well, anyone of those Rabbonim are a thousand times more choshuvh than he is and if you don’t understand that you are missing the ysod of emunah.
#3
Poor example
The reason the Prsident does not do so is because of security not Kovod.
In the early years of the U.S. any one could just walk into the white house and say hello to the president.
“In some cases, the Gedolim were compelled to travel on shuttle vehicles, barred from entering in private vehicles”.
This year the security officials and police had KNOWN SAFETY & SECURITY PROCEDURES. The license plates, model of car & name of Admor had to be submitted in a timely fashion before L”B. Were they sent in on time? with the proper info?
Is it too difficult to extend HAKAROS HATOV for an amazing job that the police and others performed this year with over 1/2 million visitors to the tzyion in Meron. Last year the chaos, lack of transportation, no room, no food and no bathroom facilities caused terrible tzarus for all. Over 8 million shekels was spent to repair roads, provide parking, shuttle buses, and hundreds of added Egged buses so that mispallim could arrive to Meron on time.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU VERY MUCH police and security forces of the state of ISRAEL. KUDOS for next year and please allow some admorim to be able to ride up to the tzyion when security is passed.