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1000s Unable to Get Bus Tickets to Meron for Lag B’Omer


egednnAs a result of lower fares and discounts for children, there are more people trying to get to Meron for Lag B’Omer than ever before. This has led to thousands being told ticket sales have stopped as all buses are full.

Chairman of the Knesset Ombudsman Committee MK Yisrael Eichler is calling on the Transportation Ministry to take the necessary steps to make additional buses available. Eichler on Tuesday evening explained that in some chareidi areas, ticket sales have halted as all the available buses are full.

Eichler maintains that instead of hiring buses from private companies as was promised would be the case, the sale of tickets has stopped in some areas and people are told there is no room for this year’s trip to Meron.

After consulting with Israel Police and private bus companies, Eichler has learned that from a technical standpoint, there is no reason additional private buses cannot be charted to resume the sale of tickets.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)



5 Responses

  1. Oy vey. I hope the people that don’t go will continue to be frum. Hashem yaazor.

    Maybe they can go to Uman and that will be mesaken all the issurum that they have been oiver as a result of missing this.

    Or they can do what the gedolei Yisroel are doing which is to continue learning, since whether or not Rashbi is to be found in Meiron he is surely found in the mishna (stam Rav Shimon of the mishna is Rashbi)

  2. This lag ba’omer even in Meron has become a major national security issue. It diverts security forces from all over the country to manage logistics and creates an enormous target for possible terrorist attacks. Since this is all a minhag, not much different from the Breslov gathering in Uman etc., its no big deal if some cannot get there this year. Next year they should make their travel plans earlier. The police should also impose some limits on how many persons should be allowed to attend.

  3. To #1

    Very well done in terms of respectful sarcasm but you make a good point. These events have grown way out of proportion and have a “new age” component which is definitely not derived from daas torah but more in the nature of goiyeshe spiritual gatherings like the Burning Man event held each year in the southwest desert. While it may arguably bring a few troubled souls closer to yiddeshkeit, the “cost” to the country in terms of bitul torah and diversion of scarce security resources to move hundereds of thousands to Meron is orders of magnitude greater.

  4. Such concern for bittul Torah and security concerns I am tearing up from it.

    You probably were and send your children to the IDF, and the rest of your time you are busy learning.

    Why not let people enjoy and have a good time?.

  5. #2: In case you are not aware of this — maybe you don’t live here — I have news for you. The state of Israel is not spending many millions of shekels on roads, bridges, lighting, parking lots,state of the art communications systems, mobile medical clinics, and more, simply out of the goodness of its heart, just because the chareidim want it. The Lag Ba’Omer celebrations in Meron are a HUGE money maker — in taxes for the state. It’s good business. So, everyone benefits.
    The custom of celebrating Lag Ba’Omer is much older than the pilgrimage to Uman. Incidentally, the police actually do impose some restrictions on how many people are allowed up there at any given time.

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