Thousands of Jewish pilgrims gathered in northern Israel on Thursday to celebrate the Lag BaOmer holiday, a year after the festivities were marred by a crush which killed 45 worshippers.
Scuffles between police officers and some pilgrims broke out at Mount Meron, where officials have imposed new restrictions in a bid to prevent another deadly accident.
Matan Kahana, deputy religious services minister, said “tens of thousands celebrated” during the first few hours of the holiday.
Festivities got under way on Wednesday evening with the bonfire lighting by a rabbi, while worshippers also held a remembrance ceremony for those who died last year.
The Lag BaOmer holiday is traditionally marked by dancing and prayers at Mount Meron, which has drawn pilgrims for centuries.
An estimated 100,000 people had gathered there last year when crowds became trapped down a narrow passageway.
The deadly crush was Israel’s worst civilian disaster and prompted an overhaul of the Lag BaOmer celebrations.
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A projection of an Israeli flag on the old city walls in Jerusalem on May 2, 2021, as Israel declared a national day of mourning for victims of a stampede during the Lag Bomer holiday at Mount Meron. The deadly crush at Mount Meron in northern Israel is described as one of the worst peacetime disasters since the nation's founding in 1948. AFP -
Young Israelis light candles in memory of the 45 ultra-Orthodox Jews killed in a stampede at a religious festival last year, during a vigil in Tel Aviv, Israel. Police at Mt Meron were expecting the arrival of thousands of mostly ultra-Orthodox worshippers and revellers on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, a year after the fatal stampede. AP Photo -
Ultra-Orthodox Jews attend a funeral in Petah Tikva of one of the victims of the Mt Meron stampede on April 30, 2021. AFP -
Rescue teams in the aftermath of the stampede near the reputed tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a second-century Talmudic sage, where mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews flock to mark the Lag Bomer holiday. AFP -
Orthodox Jewish men on April 30, 2021 at the scene of a stampede in which 45 people died near the reputed tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. AFP
On Thursday some pilgrims tore down barriers, police said, while two officers were wounded by stones thrown at them during a separate incident.
Officials have limited the capacity at Mount Meron to 16,000, with ticket-holders given a four-hour time slot to visit the site.
Police sealed off the area around the hillside with roadblocks and granted access only to shuttle buses and emergency vehicles.
Ahead of Lag BaOmer, police on Tuesday said they searched three children who were carrying wire cutters and knives. The youths had planned to use the tools to sabotage equipment at Mount Meron, the force said.
About 6,000 officers were brought in to police the event, while paramedics and ushers were stationed throughout the sloping site.
Medics said they had treated more than 90 people by Thursday afternoon, mostly for routine problems such as dehydration or falls.
