While the rest of Israel watches with bated breath as police roadblocks and strict security warnings seal off Mount Meron, a "parallel reality" has taken hold inside the courtyard of the Rashbi’s tomb. In a defiant return to tradition, members of Jerusalem’s ultra-conservative "Old Yishuv" and the Edah HaChareidit have effectively seized management of the site, establishing an independent infrastructure hours before the big night begins.
A Sovereign Security Force of Avreichim
The most striking scene on the mountain this afternoon was an improvised "steward briefing." Dozens of young men and Torah scholars from Jerusalem, clad in traditional striped robes, have formed an autonomous security apparatus.
- Eschewing state funding and police coordination, these community stewards have divided into squads to manage crowd flow within the tomb and courtyard.
- Their goal is to prove that the Meron pilgrimage can be managed as it was in decades past, without the involvement of the "Zionist state" or security forces.
- "Finally, the place has returned to its original owners," one organizer remarked, emphasizing a total decoupling from government budgets and oversight.
