On 30 April 2021, at about 00:45 IDT (UTC+3), a deadly crowd crush occurred on Mount Meron, Israel, during the annual pilgrimage to the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai on the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer, at which it was estimated that 100,000 people were in attendance. Forty-five men and boys at the event were killed, and about 150 were injured, dozens of them critically, making it the deadliest civil disaster in the history of the State of Israel.[1][2] The crush occurred after celebrants poured out of one section of the mountainside compound, down a passageway with a sloping metal floor wet with spilled drinks, leading to a staircase continuing down. Witnesses say that people tripped and slipped near the top of the stairs. Those behind, unaware of the blockage ahead, continued. The people further down were trampled over, crushed, and asphyxiated by compression,[3] calling out that they could not breathe.
The potential for such a calamity, given the tens of thousands of celebrants, had been reported by the state comptroller and the police chief. The local council had tried several times to close the site.[4]Reuters cited Israeli media outlets in reporting that, as a precaution against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, bonfire areas had been partitioned off, which may have created unrecognised choke-points.[5] It was later pointed out that the bonfires were not all lit at the same time, as in the past; this allowed people who had seen one lighting to go see another, increasing crowds.
On 10 May 2021, police arrested the safety engineer who approved the Lag BaOmer celebration and his assistant. Investigators said that senior police officers should be questioned, as suspects rather than witnesses. On 27 June, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Israel, Esther Hayut, announced that a three-paneled state commission of inquiry[he] would be chaired by her predecessor, former Supreme Court Chief Miriam Naor, with the other two members consisting of former Bnei Brak mayor Rabbi Mordechai Karlitz[he] and Aluf (ret.) Shlomo Yanai[he].[6] In Israel, such a commission of inquiry has the powers to subpoena witnesses and issue recommendations to the government.
Many traditional Lag BaOmer events took place at the festival, such as dancing and lighting bonfires, preceding the crush.
On the Lag BaOmer holiday, the tomb of the 2nd-century Tannaitic rabbi Shimon bar Yochai at Mount Meron becomes a pilgrimage site for thousands of Jews, where they pray, dance and make bonfires.[7] Men and boys attend in sections different from those for women and girls.[8][9]Haaretz called it Israel's "biggest religious festival of the year".[10]
In 2020, the country restricted the pilgrimage due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cabinet of Israel permitted the 2021 pilgrimage and waived the COVID-19 cap of 1,000 attendees as part of an agreement with Ministry of Religious Services officials which required attendees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.[11] The event was the largest to be held in Israel since the start of the pandemic in 2020.[12]
Additionally, for the first time in 13 years, the Mount Meron holiday took place on a Thursday and Friday, the significance being that Thursday night is seen as comparable to Saturday night in other parts of the world, with Friday being Israel's day of rest, as opposed to Sunday. Moreover, since celebrations are not permitted on Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath, which starts at sunset every Friday, the event was limited to a window of 14 hours, ending at sunset on Friday. Three bonfires were lit at the same time, each by an Admor.[13] The organisers estimated that approximately 100,000 were at the site—others estimate 50,000[14]—which was larger than the restricted crowd in 2020 but smaller than the hundreds of thousands of people in previous years.[12] Israeli media reported that, as a precaution against the COVID-19 pandemic, bonfire areas had been partitioned off, which may have created unrecognised choke-points.[5]
The crush was not the first time pilgrims at Mount Meron had been killed in a crowd crush. On 15 May 1911, eleven people were killed when a crowd of about 10,000 filled the compound and a railing of a nearby balcony collapsed. About 100 people fell from a height of roughly 25 feet (8m) to the ground below;[10] the deaths of seven were determined at the scene and those of four others in the days following the incident. There were 40 injured.[15]
Safety warnings
A 2008 evaluation of the site by the State Comptroller of Israel concluded that it is not adequate for its number of annual visitors.[16][17] A 2016 police report warned of issues with infrastructure and crowd control.[18]
In 2011, the state declared it would take control over the site,[19] but control was returned to owners in a court-approved settlement in 2020.[20]
In 2018, a journalist reported that the "exit passageway creates a bottleneck and causes risk of people being crushed" [21] and recommended that a larger exit way be constructed for safety after overcrowding at a funeral in Bnei Brak had led to one death and dozens injured.[22]
A week before the 2021 festival, during the COVID-19 pandemic, government departments limited the gathering to up to 10,000 people on the site, approximately 3,000 at each bonfire.[1][13] The Israel Fire and Rescue Services required that, for a crowd of 9,000 people, the site needed four different escape routes.[23] According to The New York Times, none of the government agencies took on the task of enforcing the rules,[24] and in the event an estimated 100,000 people attended.
In addition to the disastrous crush, the executive director at the National Coronavirus Taskforce expressed concerns about the possible spread of COVID-19 due to the huge, closely-packed crowds at the event. However, many restrictions were lifted in mid-February 2021 after most of the population had been vaccinated, and since then "things have gone amazingly well, even after events with very dense gatherings. ... we have to wait to see what happens".[25]
Crush
Crowd before the disaster
Four religious groups oversee different parts of the compound,[24] with the Toldot Aharon running the part where the incident occurred.[24][26] According to witness accounts, the event was held in a fenced area that was overly confining.[27] At the time, the restricted area was filled with as many as 20,000 people.[24] After the lighting ceremony, and as dancing began, hundreds of people left. The exit path was a narrow, steep slope with a smooth metal floor.[28] There were no police or rescue services managing the flow into the walkway.[26] With nothing to hold onto, the crowd leaned on each other. The path then leads to steps before a narrow tunnel.[28][29] Close to 01:00, some participants began to slip and fall, either on the metal slope or the stone steps,[7][12][27][28][29][30] and were trampled over and asphyxiated by those behind.[29][31][32] As the crowd moved to the gates, a crush started.[1][27] The crowd broke open side barriers of the path, creating rigged-up exits for some to break free.[26]
According to a witness, security blocked the passageway and kept people from exiting. As people were starting to lose consciousness as the crush prevented them from breathing, police finally opened the gates to allow people through. The crush ensued as a large number of people tried to exit at the same time through the narrow passageway.[33] Other witnesses said the path was slippery from spilled water and juice.[27][7] Another witness recalled "hundreds of people screaming 'I can't breathe'".[7]
Survivors described being buried under heaps of people and thinking that they were going to die as they could not breathe.[34] Rescue workers spoke of "so many dead people ... on top of each other". Metal handrailings were bent and twisted by the pressure.[35] Emergency personnel tried to perform CPR on unresponsive victims, then realised that they were spending time on the dead while others were alive, but in danger of death. The first responders themselves were traumatised by the experience; group therapy was arranged to try to ward off PTSD.[36]
As medics tried to reach the injured, former Israeli Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau remained on stage, urging calm and reciting psalms for the injured.[1] 300 rescue buses were prevented from entering the site due to blocked access roads.[37] Six helicopters were flown in to evacuate the injured. Cell phone service crashed due to the number of people trying to get in contact with their families.[1]
Victims
Forty-five people were killed and approximately 150 more were injured in the crush.[1][29][38] The dead included six Americans, two Canadians, an Argentine and a Briton,[39] and ranged in age from 9 to 65 years old.[40]
Following an initial investigation, the Israeli police said the crush was not preventable and that the location was being inspected for structural flaws, but the scenario of people slipping on stairs was out of police control.[42] Police commander of the Northern district, Shimon Lavi, said however, that he "bears full responsibility".[43][44] The police released a statement that the passage had been authorized by all the relevant authorities and that they had understood the event would be abnormally large.[44] This was disputed by Mordechai Halperin, ex-mayor of moshav Meron, the local authority in which the site is located, who said that the passage which narrowed an escape route was constructed without any building permits and against his strenuous objections.[45] Many commentators also suggested the Haredi community's extensive autonomy in Israel was a major contributing factor to the catastrophe.[46]
On 3 May, State ComptrollerMatanyahu Englman announced an audit of the events leading to the disaster, which would also recommend policy for future mass events. No decision was made on whether to set up a state commission of inquiry at that time.[47] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a thorough state investigation, but did not specify any details.[39]
On 10 May, the police arrested the safety engineer who had approved the Lag Ba'omer celebration and his assistant. Investigators also said that senior police officers should be questioned as suspects rather than witnesses. From the investigation at that time, it appeared that the main reason for the crowding and pressure at the Toldot Aharon bonfire compound, outside which the disaster occurred, was that police permitted the Hasidic court to hold its bonfire at a different time than the other bonfires at the compound. As a result, the crowd was not dispersed among several bonfires as was usual, but instead, additional thousands crowded in to see the Toldot Aharon bonfire. No police were stationed at the compound's exit; police only arrived 10 minutes after the crowd had pushed through the exit to the nearby walkway, causing the crush. At this stage charges of causing death by negligence were considered more appropriate than the more serious charge of causing death by taking an irresponsible risk.[48]
On 27 June, the cabinet approved the appointment of a three-member commission led by former chief justice Miriam Naor to investigate the disaster. The other two members of the commission are former Bnei Brak mayor Rabbi Mordechai Karelitz and former Israel Defense Forces planning chief Major General (res.) Shlomo Yanai. Current Chief Justice Esther Hayut appointed the members.[50]
The commission was allocated a budget of NIS 6 million (US$1.83 million) and given a broad mandate, tasked with conducting a detailed probe of the disaster and recommending specific changes to the holy site at Meron, and collaborating with the attorney general and other ongoing parallel investigations into how the disaster unfolded and the decision-making processes of government and police officials that authorized the event. These were reported to include the former public security ministerAmir Ohana, former interior ministerAryeh Deri, and former housing ministerYaakov Litzman, who were in office at the time of the incident, and Israel Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai and Northern District Police Chief Shimon Lavi.[50] The commission issued its interim recommendations in November 2021.[51]
On 4 March 2024, the commission published its final report. The committee identified a culture of negligence at home contributing to the tragedy and blamed senior officials, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, for personal responsibility. Amir Ohana was also implicated due to his failure to address overcrowding risks at the event. The inquiry suggested removing Yaakov Shabtai from his position, with the final decision pending government consideration due to the ongoing war.[52][53][54]
The crush was the deadliest civilian disaster in Israel's history,[28] surpassing the 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire which killed 44.[55] Netanyahu called it a "great tragedy" and said that everyone was praying for the victims.[55] He also declared 2 May 2021 a national day of mourning.[56] Several cultural activities were cancelled.[57] President Reuven Rivlin offered his condolences to the victims.[42]
Condolences were also issued by officials from many authorities, including several Arab governments (including Palestinian PresidentMahmoud Abbas),[58] the European Union,[7] the United Kingdom[59] and the United States.[42]
Residents of the non-Jewish settlements of Beit Jan, Jish, Peki'in, Tamra, and Yarka arranged programs supplying aid to the survivors. Numerous Israeli Arabs offered condolences as a symbolic gesture.[62]
On 3 May 2021, the Israeli Authority for Sacred Locations had been given a decree requiring a permit from the Israeli police commissioner to hold any celebration.[63] Prior to the decree, only a permit from the regional police chief was required.[63]
In September 2021, Toldot Aharon announced that their annual Simchat Beit HaShoeivah, which normally attracts thousands of visitors, would be closed to the public to avoid overcrowding.[64] As a result of the stampede, the pilgrimage on Lag BaOmer has undergone drastic changes beginning in 2022, including a limit on visitors at once, a maximum of four hours per person, and a requirement to purchase tickets beforehand. A heavy military and police presence was also required by law.
Lag BaOmer, also Lag B'Omer or Lag LaOmer, is a Jewish religious holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar.
Upsherin, Upsheren, Opsherin or Upsherinish is a first haircut ceremony observed by a wide cross-section of Jews and is particularly popular in Haredi Judaism. It is typically held when a boy turns three years old.
Meron is a moshav in northern Israel. Located on the slopes of Mount Meron in the Upper Galilee near Safed, it falls under the jurisdiction of Merom HaGalil Regional Council.
The PhilSports Stadium Stampede was a crowd crush that occurred at the PhilSports Stadium in Pasig, Metro Manila in the Philippines on February 4, 2006. It killed 73 people and injured about 400. About 30,000 people had gathered outside the stadium waiting to participate in the first anniversary episode of the former television variety show Wowowee.
The Ellis Park Stadium disaster was a crowd crush that occurred on 11 April 2001, claiming the lives of 43 people. The Oppenheimer Stadium disaster became one of the most severe sporting accidents in South African history. Spectators poured into the Ellis Park Stadium in the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, for the local Soweto derby association football match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. There was a 60,000-capacity crowd in the stadium, but reports suggest a further 30,000 more fans were trying to gain entry to the stadium. Reports also suggest that 120,000 fans were admitted into the stadium. An Orlando Pirates equaliser sparked a further surge by the fans trying to gain entry as they scrambled to see what had happened. The match was stopped after approximately 34 minutes of play when authorities received a high volume of reported injuries.
Mount Meron is a mountain in the Upper Galilee region of Israel. It has special significance in Jewish religious tradition and parts of it have been declared a nature reserve. At 1,204 metres (3,950 ft) above sea level, Mount Meron is the highest peak in Israel within the Green Line, though many peaks in the Golan Heights, which was annexed by Israel in 1981, are higher, with the highest in Israeli-occupied territory being Mitze Hashlagim at an altitude of 2,236 m, nearby Mount Hermon.
A stampede is a situation in which a group of large animals suddenly start running in the same direction, especially because they are excited or frightened. Although the term is most often applied to animals, there are cases of humans stampeding from danger too.
On 24 July 2010, a crowd disaster at the 2010 Love Parade electronic dance music festival in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, caused the deaths of 21 people from suffocation as attendees sought to escape a ramp leading to the festival area. 652 people were injured.
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Mahamaham Stampede was a disaster that occurred during the Mahamaham festival on 18 February 1992 around the Mahamaham tank located in the town of Kumbakonam in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. An estimated 50 people were killed in the stampede that left another 74 injured. The festival was attended by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha, who had a holy dip in the tank.
The 2013 Houphouët-Boigny stampede was a crowd crush that occurred as crowds departed a New Year's Eve fireworks display in the early hours of 1 January 2013 near the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It resulted in 61 deaths and over 200 injuries, mostly women and children. This was the second time in four years that a fatal crush incident occurred at the stadium.
On September 19, 1902, a stampede occurred at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, resulting in the deaths of 115 people. At the time of the crush, 3,000 people were gathered to hear Booker T. Washington address the National Convention of Negro Baptists. The stampede occurred after the end of Washington's speech, when someone yelled "There's a fight!". The word "fight" was mistaken for "fire", causing the congregation to head for the exit en masse. Many people died after they got stuck between the brick walls of a stairwell that led to the street. Most of the dead were women. Physicians said in many cases they fainted and died from suffocation.
On 24 September 2015, a fatal crowd crush resulted in the death of more than 2,000 individuals, many of whom were suffocated or crushed, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, making it the deadliest Hajj disaster in history. Estimates of the number of dead vary: the Associated Press reported 2,411 dead, while Agence France-Presse reported 2,236 killed. Based on the total of the individual national reports cited in the table below, at least 2,431 lives were claimed. The government of Saudi Arabia officially reported two days after the event that there had been 769 deaths and 934 injured. These figures remained official at the time of the next year's Hajj and were never updated. The largest number of victims were from Iran, followed by Mali and Nigeria.
Every year on Lag BaOmer, some 200,000 people attend the 'Yom Hillula' at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron, Israel. The highlight of the event is the traditional bonfire lit after nightfall on the roof of the tomb, after which celebration with music and dancing begins. From the 13th century onwards, the site became the most popular Jewish pilgrimage site in all of Palestine, later Israel, the celebration first being mentioned by an Italian traveller in 1322. Today it is the largest mass annual event in Israel.
The tomb of Shimon bar Yochai, or Kever Rashbi, on Mount Meron is the traditional burial place of the 2nd-century Mishnaic rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. A place of pilgrimage since the late 15th century, it is today the second-most-visited Jewish site in the world after the Western Wall with as many as two million annual visitors.
Crowd collapses and crowd crushes are catastrophic incidents that can occur when a body of people becomes dangerously overcrowded. When numbers are up to about five people per square meter, the environment may feel cramped but manageable; when numbers reach between eight and ten people per square meter, individuals become pressed against each other and may be swept along against their will by the motion of the crowd. Under these conditions, the crowd may undergo a progressive collapse where the pressure pushes people off their feet, resulting in people being trampled or crushed by the weight of other people falling on top of them. At even higher densities, the pressure on each individual can cause them to be crushed or asphyxiated while still upright.
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On 29 October 2022, around 22:20, a crowd surge occurred during Halloween festivities in the Itaewon neighborhood of Seoul, South Korea, killing 159 people and wounding 196 others. The death toll includes two people who died after the crush. The victims were mostly young adults; 27 of the victims were foreign nationals.
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↑ Lubell, Maayan (2 May 2021). "U.S. citizens killed in Israel festival disaster, anger mounts". Reuters. Retrieved 2 May 2021. The exact cause of the disaster is still not clear, but witness accounts and videos posted on social media suggested that some people had fallen down stairs leading out of a narrow passageway packed by hundreds of worshippers trying to exit the site, as a surge of people came down upon those ahead of them who had fallen, being trampled and asphyxiated.
↑ Gross, Judah Ari (3 May 2021). "A steep, slippery ramp, uneven stairs: Walking the route of the Meron disaster". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 12 May 2021. The exit stairs were covered in candles on Sunday, some arranged in the shape of the number 45 – for the 45 people, many of them children, who didn't make it out to that covered walkway, who were crushed to death on the stairs as masses of people fell on and trampled one another at 1 a.m. Friday.
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