MERON: MK Porush in Sharply-worded Letter to PM: “Feeling that no one is in charge”

By: Yehuda Alter

With two days remaining to the hillula of Rabi Shimon, MK Meir Porush has sent a withering letter to PM Naftali Bennet accusing the government of not giving enough consideration to the deep desire of the Charedi public to be at the Tziyun of Rashbi on Lag Ba’Omer, not doing enough throughout this year to make room for more people, and going far beyond the recommendations of the commission in instituting safety precautions.

“There is a feeling that no one is in charge,” he said, and that government officials “Shift responsibility from one to another.”

Porush accused the government of not having enough interest to do more to accommodate more people. “Where there is a will, authorities know well how to take responsibility and find solutions, even as they learn the lessons of the tragedy.”

He lamented the cancellation of the prized customs of chalakah and chai rottel, minhagim that families have kept so valiantly for centuries, and that the government drastically curtailed the number of 20,000 people permitted in Meron at any one time as suggested by the official commission. Authorities have said they would not allow more buses to arrive, until the others have left—something that many see as chaos waiting to happen.

“Even with two days remaining, there is still much that can be done—such as opening more areas to disperse the crowds, and raising the number to the recommended 20,000—and I will appreciate your involvement, Porush wrote to Bennet.