''Enable the next disaster?' Council issues closure order for tomb ahead of festivities

May 31, 2021   

After the 'Meron Disaster': The Mevot Hermon Regional Council has decided to cancel the celebration of Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, which was supposed to take place next Sunday, the 26th of Sivan - in Amuka. The decision to cancel the celebration comes just days before the day of the celebration - and the administrative closure order was imposed from Thursday, the 23rd of Sivan at 05:00 in the morning until Sunday, the 26th of Sivan at 19:00 in the evening. According to the order, the closure will apply to the entire tomb complex, including the access roads to it from the Biriye intersection to the Zion complex. According to the Regional Council, the buildings in the tomb complex were erected without a permit and are prohibited from use by law, with retaining walls in the complex in danger of collapse. The council added that the access road to the tomb complex from Highway 90 is also a dangerous, winding, narrow scenic road without a safety railing. The second access road, from the direction of the city of Safed, is also narrow and unsuitable for heavy vehicle traffic, including and especially Buses. Benny Ben Mobhar, head of the Mevot Hermon Regional Council, said: "No one contacted me to coordinate the celebration. We found out about it from publications by the Center for Holy Places. All the professional authorities warn that it is impossible to hold a mass event there - and I do not intend to allow the next disaster. That is why I ordered the cancellation of the event." Yonatan ben Uziel was a first-generation Tannaite, who lived several decades before the destruction of the Second Temple. He wrote the Targum Yonatan, a translation of the prophets into Aramaic. Many people go to the tomb attributed to him near the settlement of Amuka in the Galilee, as a virtue for finding a mate.