In the shadow of the spread of Omicron and the Meron disaster: The Israel Police have completed their preparations for the security of the Baba Sali zt"l celebration event in Netivot, which will be held from Tuesday evening until Thursday.
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According to the plan, tonight the police will occupy the grave site and the monument from 9:00 PM until Friday morning, in the hope that this time order will be maintained.
During the event, 1,600 Israel Police officers, Border Guard soldiers, and volunteers will be deployed in reinforced forces to maintain public order, public security, crowd control, and traffic control on traffic routes and in the city of Netivot.
The method of admitting the audience this year - unlike in previous years, will be as follows: The audience will not be allowed into the 'Zion', but into the area around it. The prayers with the help of the men and women will be in the Zion courtyard - the Baba Sali parking lot.
The lesson from the Meron disaster: There will be long entrance sleeves - all sleeves will be enclosed in the 'bathtub' method, with 130 people entering at a time, moving from the entry point to the prayer plaza.
At any given moment, there will be 390 men and 390 women in the Zion courtyard for a allotted time of 7 minutes. From there, they will continue in a circular fashion out, allowing another group to enter. Every hour, about 4,000 people will pass through the Zion complex.
According to police estimates, at any given moment on the day of the celebration, there will be about 20,000 people in the area of the complex.
The commander of the Netivot station, Deputy Chief Guy Haim, explained the decision why they did not initially approve the celebration: "The event was not approved in light of the fact that the association and the family did not comply with safety instructions. Therefore, the commander of the area decided not to approve the event. After the decision, officials gathered, and budgets were provided that allowed the producer to comply with all safety requirements.
""Right now, there are only final things left. There was no political pressure or public pressure, there were safety problems. As soon as the safety problems were resolved and the production, together with the municipality, met all safety requirements - there is a possibility of holding the festival.".
According to police estimates, the large crowd is expected to arrive tomorrow afternoon until late at night. Hundreds in the morning, thousands during the afternoon and night on Wednesday and Thursday.
During the days of revelry, the police expect about one hundred thousand people who will attend Baba Sali's funeral.
On permits to enter the grave site for members of the association and family members - he said: "In terms of permits, entry will be allowed for members of the association and family members. Tomorrow, the introduction of a Torah scroll to the grave site of his son Rabbi Baruch Abuhatzeira will take place, with a limited number of people. There is a private event of the rabbi that is taking place tomorrow with a number of people that he will include in the introduction of a Torah scroll. This is coordinated with us and they will enter inside.
""Family members coordinated with us, within a time window that we set, so as not to create a situation of chaos within the zone, so that citizens would not get the impression that it was possible to enter the zone.".
When asked how many permits the police allowed for family members and the association: "This is between us and the family, we closed it. I don't think it should be brought out.".
And what about the green badge? The police are prepared to enforce the 'green badge' at the entrance to the complex. After that, those people who have the 'green badge' will be given bracelets, and they will proceed inside.
For those who do not have a 'green badge', the production has arranged for a tent in the complex with a company that will perform rapid antigen tests, and within a few minutes, people who arrive without the badge will be able to perform the test and arrive with an entry permit.
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Instructions for participants:
In order to allow the event to take place, while maintaining the health of the celebrants, entry to the venue will be permitted to those with a green card or a valid corona test. The tests must be completed prior to arriving at the event, and documentation must be prepared and presented at the entrance.
Masks must be worn while staying in the area.
At the entrance to the complex, crowd control will be conducted for gift sleeves that will be distributed to groups entering the complex around "Hatziyon", for only 7 minutes.
Traffic arrangements:
As part of the preparations, the festival complex will be closed on the night of Tuesday, January 4th, until January 6th, and entry to all types of vehicles will not be permitted.
From Tuesday, starting at 10:00 PM, until Thursday, January 6, Darachi Rafael Street in the city of Netivot will be closed to traffic.
Drivers and disabled persons are asked to park their vehicles in the railway parking lot in Netivot, from where a special shuttle system will be operated.
Police officers will direct traffic as needed at intersections:
Highway 25 - Western entrance to Netivot
Highway 25/34.
You can use the WAZE navigation application, and also stay updated through the 110 police hotline and the media.
There will be no fair in the area of the event complex.
