Jerusalem and Tel Aviv landmarks light up in memory of Mount Meron victims
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Candles are seen during a vigil for those killed and injured in a stampede at an ultra-Orthodox Jewish festival on the slopes of Israel’s Mount Meron, in Jerusalem on May 1, 2021. REUTERS / Ronen Zvulun
I24 news – The walls of Jerusalem’s Old City and Tel Aviv City Hall lit up with the Israeli flag and commemorative candles on Saturday evening, lamenting the victims of the Mount Meron disaster.
Described as one of the worst civil disasters on record in Israel, the deadly stampede took place during a festival celebrated on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer and left 45 dead and more than 100 injured.
Many of the victims were teenagers and younger, authorities said.
According to preliminary results from an ongoing police investigation, the tragedy was caused by the collapse of a stand, but the Israeli ambulance service Magen David Adom (MDA) later said it was due to the overcrowding.
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The pilgrimage was the largest public gathering in Israel since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted last year, and was largely overcome thanks to a record rollout of vaccination.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Sunday, May 2 a “national day of mourning” for the victims of the stampede.
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