Preparations for Miron: The Knesset's Interior and Environmental Protection Committee discussed preparations for the commemoration of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron this coming Saturday night on Monday morning. During the committee's discussions, it became clear that preparations for the event by the police, the Ministry of Transportation, and the Ministry of Tourism have not yet been completed.
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All other relevant parties involved in the operation of the event participated in the discussion: the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Transportation, the police, MDA, emergency and rescue agencies, and representatives of transportation companies.
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During the discussion, the failures in the preparations for the celebration became clear, with the police declaring that they would not allow private vehicles to arrive at all.
Committee chairwoman MK Miri Regev claimed that it is impossible for the police not to respond to visitors, and that it is not possible to prohibit people from arriving in their vehicles. "If your expectation is for 10,000 vehicles, then prepare parking lots around Meron for everyone," she said.
MK Moshe Gafni attacked the assessments, saying that if it were a secular event in Tel Aviv, all the roads would certainly have been arranged properly and there would have been no problem.
MK Zevulun Kalfa of the Jewish Home said: "I can't understand what's going on here and how the various parties are still not prepared. It's puzzling to me that we're here after a year of discussions, and the most basic thing like regulated parking lots hasn't been done yet. It sounds strange and bizarre to me, and the end result will be that people will pave their own ways to get there in private vehicles - and the incident will get out of control.".
MK Yaakov Asher said: "When the Pope visited the north once, millions were invested in infrastructure. When the state recognizes Meron as an official event that requires the allocation of resources for paving roads and parking lots - there will be a solution. It is impossible to repeat forced solutions every year and hold meetings with all the relevant parties and fail again, so there is no escape from allocating these resources.".
At the end of the discussion, it was decided that a special subcommittee would be established - the 'Committee of Four', and its members would include MKs Israel Eichler, David Azoulay, David Tzur and Zevulun Kalfa. The committee will meet tomorrow at noon, and will try to reach quick solutions as early as this year, while, among other things, examining the possibility of legalizing parking lots in Karmiel, Tiberias and Safed.
The committee is supposed to continue its duties throughout the year, and prepare accordingly for next year.
Earlier, a meeting was held in the conference room of the United Torah Judaism faction in the Knesset between MKs Yaakov Litzman, Israel Eichler, Menachem Eliezer Mozes and Uri Maklev, with the head of the Traffic Division of the Israel Police, Chief Yaakov Chiko Edri, alongside senior officials from the Northern District, in preparation for the Lag BaOmer events in Meron.
During the meeting, Superintendent Yaakov Chiko Edri presented to the MKs the police's preparations for the events, and promised that the police would place special emphasis on avoiding Sabbath desecrations as much as possible.
In addition, the parties reached an agreement that the private company buses will also be able to reach the entrance to the settlement of Meron and will not drop off passengers at more distant parking lots, as the police had originally requested - if it turns out that traffic is flowing and no traffic congestion is created. "We will make every effort to allow everyone to get up to the top, but if it seems like it's disrupting traffic, we will stop," said Edri.
