IDF Home Command Demands Closure Of Meron, Up To 10 People At Lighting Ceremonies

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The IDF home command is demanding the hermetic closure of the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai starting from a few days time. The home command will also prohibit renting summer houses in the region and will only allow up to 10 people into the tomb’s compound for the various lightings which will take place on Lag Ba’Omer.

Last week the IDF announced the cancellation of all the events which take place in Meron on Lag Ba’Omer due to the current tensions with Hezbollah. Despite this, the IDF has not changed the current regulations, which allow for limited gatherings even in northern towns located some kilometers from the border.

Minister for Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Traditions Meir Porush, who is responsible for the Meron events on Lag Ba’Omer, said in April that “we are doing what we have been assigned and building the permanent infrastructure on Mt. Meron, hoping that we will be able to maintain the Rashbi event in its usual form. If the security tensions in the north prevent the possibility of holding the events in Meron for the greater public, we will find alternative solutions around the country.”