Father of Meron Victim: ‘I May Go Back This Year’

ISRAEL (VINnews) — Rabbi Avigdor Chayut, whose son was tragically killed in Meron last year, says he may return to the site this coming Lag B’Omer.

Rabbi Chayut tragically lost his son Yedidyah z”l, and his talmid Moshe Levy z”l, in the Meron disaster. In addition, he himself was injured.

He told Ynet on Purim that he hopes to attend the event this year, but clarified: “I will return there on Lag B’Omer if I see that the safety issue has been taken care of and I can return b’ezras Hashem in a safe manner.”

Rabbi Chayut was interviewed ahead of the resumption of hearings of the Meron commission, which will be chaired by retired Judge Devorah Berliner, after former Supreme Court chief justice Miriam Naor passed away.

He said, “I very much hope that the committee will come back and operate properly with one clear goal: that the place will be qualified for the absorption of a lot of people, and we will really be able to see people get there safely and come back safely and can go on with life.”

He added, “I lost my eldest son and my student who was with me. Since I have been to Meron many, many times, I very much hope that things will start to move faster. I have a lot of emotion for this place, and I would like to see the place get back to normal, as the father of one of the dead and as an educator of one of the dead, and I was personally saved, I would like to see this place re-operated in the best way possible.”