Amuka Yahrzeit Events Cancelled Due To ‘Dangerous, Illegal Structure’ And ‘Narrow, Dangerous Access Roads’

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In the wake of the Meron tragedy, it was reported on Kikar Hashabat that the regional council of Mevo’ot Chermon has cancelled the yahrzeit ceremonies for Rabbi Yonatan Ben Uziel which normally take place at his tomb in Amuka on 26 Sivan each year.

The entire site of Amuka will be shut down from this Thursday morning at 5am through Sunday evening at 7pm. Not only will the site itself be closed but also the roads leading to Amuka will be blocked. Additionally, camping, or otherwise sleeping, in the forests surrounding Amuka will be banned within 800 meters of the site. Thus it will be almost impossible to pray even adjacent to the tomb.

The reason given by the regional council for the ban is that the entire structure of the Amuka tomb is dangerous and illegal and never received a permit. The supporting walls are crumbling and at risk of collapse. Moreover the roads leading up to Amuka (so named because it is in a deep ravine which is difficult to reach from either side) are narrow roads with no guardrails and extremely dangerous curves and these roads cannot safely handle the volume of traffic at such an event.

A similar event to have taken place in the Druze town of Soujour at the tomb of Rabbi Yishmael Ben Elisha Kohen Gadol, has also been cancelled for safety reasons. This event takes place annually on 25 Sivan and even the Druze dignitaries participate since they revere the tomb and claim that miracles happened in its merit.

Despite all the reasons given, the underlying reason behind all this is what could be termed “The Meron Effect.” Authorities are wary of any situation which could cause accidents and with so many possibilities for such accidents they are bending over backwards to be more cautious. However if the structure is indeed unsafe then it is doubtless unsafe all year round and should be renovated soon to prevent accidents at other times. Closing it just for the yahrzeit is akin to ignoring the dangers which could exist on all other days of the year.

Had the government reacted responsibly to the Meron disaster a committee would immediately have been set up to investigate the possible dangers at all holy sites frequented by large numbers of pilgrims and would have allocated a budget for at least emergency renovations at these sites. However no committee has been formed regarding the tragedy, even one which would investigate who was responsible and what can be done at the site itself to prevent further accidents. Hopefully with the formation of a new government these crucial issues will finally be addressed and not swept under the table.