The Minister of Religious Services, Yitzhak Vaknin, arrived in Meron this evening (Monday) to participate in the Rashbi celebration, which is being held this year in a reduced format due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a conversation with Channel 7, the minister said: "There is no doubt that this is not what we are used to seeing here, not even a hint of it. Every year half a million people come here and we preserve the tradition of lighting the candles, with all the sorrow and pain. We have no choice but to do what we are allowed to do in terms of government instructions - the three lightings with fifty people.".
He sharply criticized the conduct of the police in Meron: "For every person here on the mountain, there are between 40 and 50 police officers. I don't think this mass of police was needed. Unfortunately, they also piled unnecessary bureaucracy on those people who were allowed to go up.".
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'"One commander doesn't know what the other commander is saying and I have to go up to the police headquarters so that they can allow the people who are left below and have permits to come here. This is an unthinkable situation.".
