How will the trip to the Rashbi festival go this year? • Everything you need to know

May 16, 2022   

Traffic Division preparations and traffic arrangements for the Rashbi celebration: The Israel Police Traffic Division has completed preparations for the Rashbi celebration in Meron, which will take place on Wednesday and Thursday. Can you keep a secret? Solve an issue? We are looking for you for a prestigious position This year, the event will be held in accordance with the interim recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry into the Meron Disaster, which were adopted by the government: limiting the number of celebrants at the Zion Rashbi complex - with only 16,000 people on the mountain at any given moment during the celebration, and holding only one lighting ceremony. Limiting the number of visitors to 16,000 at any given moment will be carried out by distributing/selling tickets for the event by the Ministry of Transportation and Production. The tickets allow arrival by public transportation, individual travelers and private car owners (who have purchased a ticket) to the waiting parking lots and from there to reach Mount Meron. The ticket also constitutes a permit to stay for up to 4 hours in the Zion complex. Arrival on foot or in private vehicles will not be allowed. Tickets must be purchased in advance. According to the transportation plan, which allows the event producer to control the number of attendees at the Zion complex and with the goal of not reaching a number of celebrants exceeding what is permitted by regulations, and such a number that could pose a risk to the celebrants. On the mountain, the ascent to the entrance to Moshav Meron will be carried out in a controlled manner and according to the number of people present on the mountain. To this end, parking lots and waiting areas have been opened in Eliakim, Hof Gai, Golani Junction, Big Karmiel, Hatzor and Elifelet (Elifelet will be used as a parking lot for private vehicles with a ticket only). • Public transportation buses and individual shuttles must arrive at the waiting area listed on the travel ticket they purchased from the Ministry of Transportation. • The waiting areas will accommodate all buses and shuttles and will receive a permit to continue traveling to the mountain only according to the number of revelers who left the mountain and based on the space that has become available, so be prepared to wait in these areas. • All buses and shuttles will pass through the Ein Hozim parking lot in order to count the buses and shuttles going up to the mountain. Shuttles to the mountain will not be allowed to leave as long as there is no free space on the mountain.

Below is the route on the mountain complex:

Private shuttle/bus: Individual shuttle passengers will arrive at the parking lot that appears on the travel permit that the shuttle driver received from the Ministry of Transportation, from there (and after approval to continue the trip) they will arrive at the Kahal parking lot, where they will change to a shuttle and travel to the drop-off terminal near the settlement of Meron via the Ein Hozim parking lot. Ministry of Transportation bus: Public transportation passengers will arrive at the waiting parking lots from where they will travel (after approval) to the drop-off terminal via the Ein Hozim parking lot - there is no shuttle service. Private car passengers: They will arrive at the Elifelet parking lot according to the time specified on the ticket they purchased (they will not be allowed to enter before that time). From there, they will board a shuttle to the Ein Hozim parking lot and from there directly to the drop-off terminal near the settlement of Meron. [Gallery] The descent from the mountain: At the end of their stay on the mountain, shuttles will collect the celebrants from the drop-off terminal near the entrance to the settlement of Meron, to the terminal for distribution to all locations in the country - at the Prud parking lot.

Changes in traffic arrangements:

Starting Tuesday at 10:00 PM, restrictions on the number of people staying in the tomb complex will come into effect. All those staying in the tomb complex will be required to leave it, and all private vehicles found in the parking lot near the settlement and in unregulated parking lots will be towed to the lot near the Merom Galil exit. The traffic routes that will be blocked to private vehicle traffic and will be used as shuttle routes only for the duration of the celebration from Wednesday to Friday (inclusive): Highway 866: Parod Junction - Meron Junction. Hanina Junction - Meron Junction. Dalton Junction - Ein Zeitim Junction. Highway 89: Jish Junction - Meron Junction. Ein Hozim/Ein Zeitim Junction - Ein Zeitim Junction. Emergency Highway via Jish - Meron Junction. Elifelet Subdistrict - Meron Junction. Highway 8900: Biriye Junction - Ein Zeitim Junction. There will be ushers in the parking lots and on the access roads to the site. The public must be responsible and obey the instructions of the ushers and police officers. Be prepared for a long stay in the parking lots and on the buses, and be patient.