{"id":98000,"date":"2026-05-04T23:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T23:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/98000\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T23:50:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T23:50:12","slug":"haredi-masses-breach-meron-flouting-wartime-lag-bomer-restrictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/98000\/","title":{"rendered":"Haredi masses breach Meron, flouting wartime Lag B\u2019Omer restrictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Masses of ultra-Orthodox worshipers crowded onto Mount Meron on Monday night to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag B\u2019Omer in a show of brazen defiance after authorities attempted to limit the annual festivities at the northern site due to fear of Hezbollah rocket fire.<\/p>\n

In footage posted online, crowds could be seen streaming into the complex \u2014 traditionally thought to be the resting place of the 2nd-century Jewish sage Shimon Bar Yochai \u2014 and gathering around a central bonfire lit outside the tomb.<\/p>\n

Thumping music played in the background, and in some footage, individuals could be seen overturning fences intended to limit the number of people in the area.<\/p>\n

Authorities announced Sunday that annual celebrations at the hilltop complex would be drastically scaled back, after the IDF Home Front Command re-tightened restrictions in northern Israel, limiting outdoor public gatherings to 200 people and indoor gatherings to 600 people, down from 1,500.<\/p>\n

The decision meant that instead of the usual mass celebration \u2014 attended by over 100,000 people each year \u2014 three officially approved bonfire lightings were scheduled to take place atop Mount Meron, each hosting 200 people.<\/p>\n

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Police closed all roads leading to Meron on Sunday and erected barriers aimed at preventing any would-be revellers from reaching the area. But as many as 20,000 people were estimated to have already arrived in Meron in anticipation of Monday\u2019s festivities, and no effort was made to clear them from the area.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tUltra-Orthodox Jews gather behind a fence for Lag B\u2019Omer celebrations at Mount Meron in northern Israel on May 4, 2026. (David Cohen\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

Despite the oversight, the police insisted on Monday afternoon that enough had been done to keep pilgrims away. They denied reports indicating that thousands had already snuck into the complex, and that thousands more were on their way, driving as far as they could and then walking the remainder of the route.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe entry of thousands of people into the Meron area has so far been prevented, and the arrival of hundreds of buses traveling in violation of the [Home Front Command] guidelines has been thwarted,\u201d police claimed in a statement, reiterating that hundreds of police officers were present to block anyone from entering.<\/p>\n

\u05db\u05e2\u05ea \u05d1\u05de\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5\u05df, \u05e7\u05e8\u05d9\u05e1\u05d4 \u05e9\u05dc \u05de\u05ea\u05d5\u05d5\u05d4 \u05d4\u05e7\u05d4\u05dc \u05d4\u05de\u05d5\u05d2\u05d1\u05dc, \u05d4\u05de\u05d7\u05e1\u05d5\u05de\u05d9\u05dd \u05e0\u05e4\u05e8\u05e6\u05d5 \u05d5\u05d4\u05d7\u05d5\u05d2\u05d2\u05d9\u05dd \u05d7\u05d5\u05d2\u05d2\u05d9\u05dd pic.twitter.com\/nOWphi5Fsj<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 \u05d9\u05d5\u05d0\u05dc\u05d9 \u05d1\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd yoeli brim (@yoeli_brim) May 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Footage shared online by a correspondent for the Kan public broadcaster showed a Haredi family walking through private farmland to reach Mount Meron, and refusing to stop when confronted by a resident of the neighboring community.\n<\/p>\n

The police statement further denied that masses of revelers have reached the site illegally, claiming news reports were \u201cmisleading the public\u201d and insisting that only a \u201cminority\u201d had managed to evade law enforcement.<\/p>\n

But by nightfall, it was apparent that the police efforts had fallen short.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone can come,\u201d one pilgrim told the Ynet news site.<\/p>\n

Another, who gave his name only as Shimon, said he drove to Meron from Givat Ze\u2019ev, a settlement on the outskirts of Jerusalem, without encountering any restrictions \u2014 an experience he described as a \u201cmiracle.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tPeople gather to watch the lighting on the central bonfire during Lag B\u2019omer celebrations on Mount Meron, northern Israel, on May 4, 2026. (David Cohen\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

The longstanding tradition at Meron has suffered in recent years amid increasingly frequent flare-ups with Hezbollah on Israel\u2019s northern border, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional restrictions were imposed on the annual event in 2022 after a crowd crush killed 45 people and injured over 100 the previous year \u2014 Israel\u2019s deadliest ever peacetime civilian disaster.<\/p>\n

Past closures have sparked fierce clashes between police and Haredi worshipers attempting to break into the site. But there were no reports of intense clashes Monday night, with the worshipers appearing to have simply bypassed all barriers with ease.<\/p>\n

Showing up at the pilgrimage site<\/a> Monday night, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir lauded police operating in the area for being \u201cgentle\u201d with those trying to reach Meron, while urging the public to refrain from traveling there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we should commend all the officers who are currently at all the checkpoints surrounding Meron, and they\u2019re working very gently. I hope that it will continue this way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Police treatment of those violating the restrictions at Meron differed sharply from its behavior two years ago, in which officers were recorded using pepper spray, firing warning shots in the air and shoving elderly worshipers to the ground.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem bonfires<\/p>\n

In an effort to keep as many would-be pilgrims away from Meron as possible while still allowing them to celebrate the holiday, two mass bonfire lighting ceremonies were held in Jerusalem on Monday night, alongside several smaller ones.<\/p>\n

Estimated as the largest ceremonial lighting Monday night was that of Rabbi Elimelech Biderman, who traditionally lights a bonfire atop Meron, but moved the festivities to the capital following the last-minute changes.<\/p>\n

Some 33,000 people were estimated to have attended Biderman\u2019s lighting, which took place at around 11 p.m. that night on a road in northern Jerusalem that was brimming with young men in black hats. Apartment balconies flanking both sides of the road were also full of ultra-Orthodox onlookers.<\/p>\n

When authorities closed Meron two years ago, Biderman held a ceremony in Ramat Beit Shemesh, which drew around 40,000 people.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPeople celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag B\u2019omer in ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem on May 4, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

Another ceremony was held in Sheikh Jarrah, a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, which has long been a flashpoint for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.<\/p>\n

The neighborhood is home to a tomb thought to be the resting place of the Second Temple-era high priest Shimon HaTzadik. Historically, it served as a less popular, but still frequented, pilgrimage site on Lag B\u2019Omer.<\/p>\n

As the sun set on Monday, Haredi families trickled past ushers into the neighborhood to pray at the tomb before the scheduled bonfire lighting. Across the street, Orthodox volunteers distributed refreshments for the guests.<\/p>\n

A significantly smaller, largely English-speaking crowd gathered at the Western Wall for a bonfire lighting led by Rabbi Aharon Bina, the head of the Netiv Aryeh yeshiva in the area.<\/p>\n


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