Tens of Thousands Celebrate Lag Ba’Omer in Meron

Tens of thousands of people have flocked to Meron to honor Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai for the traditional Lag Ba’Omer bonfire lighting.

Alongside traditional Hasidic dance, students will meet to learn Torah with residents from Elon Moreh and Yizhar.

Events will include Torah lectures dealing about Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, and dancing accompanied by musical instruments.

Earlier, police commander Eli Krisphil for the Northern District told Arutz Sheva, “We are fully deployed, and have been since early morning.”

“People are using distant parking lots, leaving the cities, and even walking toward the mountain. We have police in all these places, to allow the masses to arrive smoothly.

”There are big parking lots for private vehicles that people can take buses from to get here, according to the plan we have in place.

“All necessary emergency services are in place, and we are guarding the festivities with 1,200 police officer,” Krisphil said.

MDA Director General Eli Bin instructed MDA stations in the region to bolster the number of paramedics and ambulances on hand to deal with emergencies, smoke inhalation, and burns from the bonfires.

This year, MDA asked parents want to start bonfires for youth and children to keep a close eye on the fires, and prevent incidents of violence between youths.