Four U.S. Citizens Dead in Israel’s Mount Meron Disaster,U.S. President Joe Biden Calls Netanyahu to Offer Aid, Condolences After Mount Meron Disaster;…
ASGHAR ALI MUBARAK
At least four 4 American citizens and one Argentine are among the 45 victims of the deadly stampede during Lag Ba’omer festivities in northern Israel overnight Thursday, according to the Foreign Media reports. White House says U.S. working to confirm reports of American citizens killed or wounded in the incident. U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday to extend his condolences over the deadly stampede at the Lag Ba’Omer festivities in northern Israel that left at least 45 dead and over 150 injured. The White House released a statement Friday saying that the United States was working to confirm reports of U.S. citizens killed or wounded in the incident at Mount Meron, and that the U.S. Embassy and the State Department were reaching out to support any U.S. citizen or family member affected by the event. A State Department spokesperson confirmed to media that “multiple U.S. citizens were among the casualties.” “We offer our sincerest condolences to the families and loved ones of those injured and who perished in the tragedy at Mt. Meron during the Lag Ba’omer commemorations,” the spokesperson said, reiterating that the U.S. Embassy is working with local authorities to verify whether any additional U.S. citizens were affected, while providing all possible consular support to affected U.S. citizens and their loved ones. The spokesperson added that the State Department has no further comment “out of respect for the families at this difficult time.”
Rep. Mondaire Jones, a Democratic Congressman from New York whose district includes parts of Westchester and Rockland Counties, tweeted that he is “heartbroken” to learn that two of his constituents were among the dead. “My team and I are continuing to monitor the situation and stand ready to assist any [district] residents affected by this tragedy.”
The community of Danny Morris, an American who was studying in Israel, publicly mourned his loss. The Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey tweeted on Friday: “It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Donny Morris, son of Mirlana and Aryeh Morris of Bergenfield, was one of the victims of the tragic event that occurred yesterday in Meron, Israel.”
Morris was studying at Yeshiva Sha’alvim, a gap year program run by Masa Israel, which runs hundreds of educational, volunteer and internship programs in Israel for young Jewish adults.
Reached for comment, a spokeswoman for Masa said that participants in programs run by the organization had permission to attend the Mount Meron festivities on their own provided that they had notified their directors in advance “since no warnings had been issued.”
All other Masa participants visiting the site on their own Thursday night have been located, she said. Their program directors had been instructed by Masa to encourage them to call their families and to provide them with psychological support.
Eight gap year programs run by Masa, which receives funding from the Jewish Agency and the government of Israel, sent organized groups of participants to Mount Meron on Thursday night, the spokeswoman confirmed. They included both yeshiva programs for men and seminary programs for women. Almost all these programs cater to high school graduates from North America.
The Masa spokeswoman said that all eight programs had received permission in advance to send their participants to the Lag B’Omer festivities from Moked Teva, a government center that ensures security for hikers and tour groups. They are Yeshivat Sha’arei Meveseret Zion, Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim, Yeshivat Ohavei Yerushalayim, Ohr Somayach Institutions, Midreshet Tehillah, Sharfman’s Seminary, Seminar Pninim and the Lev Academic Center.
“The groups were in constant touch with us and returned home safely,” she said.
The Israel National News website also identified Shraga Gestetner, a 35-year-old singer who lives in Monsey, New York and was visiting Israel at the time, as another victim of the disaster.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken that “the State of Israel is working to help the families of the victims who have American citizenship to help them get to Israel as soon as possible.”
Ashkenazi also told Blinken that condolence messages sent to Israel from the United States following the disaster have been received “and that this expression of solidarity with the Israeli people is invigorating and warms the hearts of the nation.”
The Israeli Interior Ministry on Friday announced that first-degree relatives of foreign citizens injured at Mount Meron would be given special permission to come to Israel to be with their loved ones, despite coronavirus travel restrictions that are still in place.
Families interested in applying for permission were asked to submit a formal request to the following email: harigim-natbag@piba.gov.il
According to a White House statement, Biden instructed his team to offer assistance to the government and people of Israel as they respond to the disaster at Mount Meron, where tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews were gathered to mark the holiday.
“The people of the United States and Israel are bound together by our families, our faiths, and our histories and we will stand with our friends. Our prayers are with those who were injured and all those who lost loved ones. May their memories be a blessing,” Biden said in his statement.
The statement added that the United States is also working to confirm reports of U.S. citizens that were killed or wounded in the incident, and that the U.S. Embassy and the State Department will work to support any U.S. citizen or family member affected by the event. Thus far, 32 of the 45 bodies of the victims have been identified.
Late Thursday night, thousands gathered on spectator stands for the beginning of the Toldos Aharon Hasidic community’s bonfire-lighting ceremony on the mountain. At 12:50 A.M., following the lighting ceremony, when dancing began, a tightly packed crowd of hundreds of people headed towards the exit.
The Toldos Aharon section of the exit path is a narrow passageway with a smooth and sloped metal floor. As the minutes passed, the crowd became denser. There was nothing to hold onto and the people in the throng leaned on one another.
At 1 A.M., the disaster occurred when some at the site stumbled on the stairs. Many lost their footing, fell on top of one another, crushing the victims. Panic sparked attempts to escape, only exacerbating the situation, as hundreds who were trapped tried to find a way out.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also offered statements mourning the loss of life. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman spoke with Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Gilad Erdan to offer her condolences.
Erdan noted that he has also received support from multiple ambassadors based in the United States and the United Nations, where he also serves as Israel’s envoy.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wrote a letter to President Reuven Rivlin on Friday expressing his sorrow at “the disaster that lead to the deaths of dozens of victims,” and added, “we are praying for the victims and wishing a speedy recovery to the wounded.
The funerals of several of those killed in a mass stampede during Lag Ba’Omer festivities overnight Thursday in northern Israel took place before Shabbat arrived on Friday.
More over the witnesses who were at Mount Meron at the time of the deadly stampede that left 44 dead and over 150 injured recounted the horror of what was meant to be a festive and jovial Lag Ba’Omer celebration.
Tens of thousands of people participated Thursday in the annual Lag Ba’omer festivities at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, making it the largest event held in Israel since the coronavirus pandemic broke out last year.
Since the site was so densely attended, search and rescue authorities say they struggled to evacuate trapped people. The stampede was caused after some revelers slipped on steps, causing dozens more people to fall over, according to police sources.
When dawn broke on Mount Meron, the scene was covered with thousands of blue plastic bottles, crushed by the crowds that had stepped on them. Witnesses said the water bottles had been thrown into the crowd in the course of efforts to get people out.
The bottles, however, were all over the area, raising the question as to whether they caused people in the crowd to slip and fall, precipitating the avalanche of people.
“We were 20 friends from the yeshiva. We were standing close to the [Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai] grave, and all of a sudden, a dad started yelling that his son was trapped.,” Arik, who was at Mt. Meron at the time, said from hospital.
“People were screaming, ‘I can’t breathe, can’t breathe.’ This boy started yelling, ‘Dad, I can’t breathe,” Arik recounted. “One person threw up on me and was choking. One person was lying on my leg and I yelled at him to move, but he was totally unconscious.”
“It was chaos. I was there the second it happened, and I thought it was just something small,” Netivot resident Shachar told media.
“Even the people without medical training began to help to clear the injured people towards the Yeshiva.”
In the daylight, thin, bent railings lined a stairway. Witnesses said that a large number of people had tried to jump over them in an attempt to flee. On the other side of the railings, people had lifted children to extract them from the crush.
In a corner not far from the stairs, there were still body bags with the large black hats worn by ultra-Orthodox Jewish men protruding out of them.
Eliyahu, who was injured in the disaster, described a scene of total confusion. “We tried to leave, but the police had closed all kinds of areas and weren’t letting us leave,” he said.
“We begged them to open the gates to get out, but the police for some reason didn’t let people leave and everyone was pushed, and people were simply trampled to death. I didn’t understand what was happening and fainted,” he added.
“I had just sat down to eat when I heard the screams; We rushed to help, and there were stretchers with bodies on them, and people trying to resuscitate them while carrying them,” said Avi, a witness who helped treat the injured told Haaretz.
“Then we saw the bodies. At the start it was about 10. Now, there’s many more.”
“It happened in a split second; people just fell, trampling each other. It was a disaster,” another witnesses said.
Two different witnesses told Haaretz that a police barricade prevented people from exiting and caused overcrowding.
On Friday morning, even before the disaster site was fully cleared, a crowd of curious onlookers gathered there. A line of buses was streaming from the top of the mountain to evacuate those who have still been unable to leave.
