Government Cancels Lag BaOmer Event in Meron Over Security Fears

Israel has canceled this year’s main Lag BaOmer pilgrimage to Mount Meron, as renewed security restrictions were imposed in the north amid ongoing Hezbollah attacks despite the ceasefire in Lebanon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the cancellation of the mass event, which in normal years draws hundreds of thousands of mostly ultra-Orthodox men to the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron. Instead, the annual hillula will be held with limited symbolic attendance, with final details to be determined.

The decision followed a new assessment by the IDF Home Front Command, which on Sunday reimposed gathering limits in several northern communities after the entire country had been free of such restrictions since April 18. The new rules apply to communities along the Lebanon border, as well as Meron, Bar Yohai, Or HaGanuz and Safsufa, limiting gatherings to 1,500 people.

The restrictions were set to remain in place until Monday evening, pending another assessment.

In a letter sent by the Prime Minister’s Office and signed by Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, officials cited the danger of a mass-casualty incident due to the fragile ceasefire with Lebanon, Mount Meron’s proximity to the border, rocket fire toward the area, and the difficulty of evacuating large crowds quickly in an emergency.

Lag BaOmer begins this year on the evening of Monday, May 4, and continues the following day. The Meron pilgrimage is one of the largest annual religious gatherings in Israel, centered around the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the second-century Mishnaic sage traditionally associated with the mystical teachings of the Zohar.

The site has long presented crowd-safety challenges even without active rocket threats from Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. In 2021, 45 people were killed in a crush at Meron, Israel’s deadliest civilian disaster.

This year, officials appear unwilling to combine that existing risk with the possibility of renewed fire from Lebanon. The result is another sign that even with formal ceasefires in place, northern Israel has not returned to anything resembling normal life.