JERUSALEM – Israeli police on May 4 warned people not to defy the cancellation of a major pilgrimage near the border with Lebanon, scrapped because of hostilities with Hezbollah, while local media reported thousands had gathered at the site.
Fighting between Israeli forces and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire in effect since mid-April.
Israeli media reported thousands of people had gathered at the pilgrimage site on May 4 despite the cancellation and a ban on large gatherings due to ongoing hostilities.
Authorities announced the pilgrimage’s cancellation on May 1, citing the “security situation,” sparking the closure of roads leading to the Mount Meron site starting on the morning of May 3.
Israeli authorities fear that some worshippers will attempt to circumvent the roadblocks and warned that “police will not allow extremist elements to turn this sacred place into a scene of violence,” a police statement said.
It added that police “will act to bring to justice anybody who will incite violence or act against officers fulfilling their duty”.
The Mount Meron pilgrimage occurs on the Lag BaOmer holiday, when mainly ultra-Orthodox Jews throng the site of the tomb of revered second-century rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.
The pilgrimage was cancelled in 2024, and took place with restrictions in 2025, both times due to hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah which began after the start of the war in Gaza.
On April 30, 2021, a stampede in the section reserved for men caused the deaths of 45 pilgrims, including at least 16 children.
A commission of inquiry concluded three years later that there was “personal responsibility” on the part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a video on May 3, Israel’s Chief Rabbi David Yossef lambasted those wanting to go to Meron despite the bans.
“The risk of endangering one’s life overrides all religious commandments, and security experts say there is a real danger,” he stressed. AFP
