2 minute read
Israel
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A Day of Mourning
Israel held a national day of mourning on Sunday after 45 people were killed in a tragic stampede during the Lag B’Omer celebrations in Meron.
Musical events were canceled, along with sports and cultural events. Israeli flags across the country and at diplomatic missions overseas were lowered to half-mast, and schools nationwide instructed teachers to dedicate an hour to speaking with students about the tragedy.
In addition, the weekly government meeting slated to take place on Sunday was canceled while the Knesset held a candle-lighting ceremony in memory of the victims. Radio and television stations refrained from airing advertisements during breaks and broadcast quiet music instead of the usual programming.
The national day of mourning was announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday morning and was approved later that day by the cabinet in a vote held over the phone.
“On Sunday, we will hold a national day of mourning and lower the Israeli flags to half-mast in all public buildings, IDF bases, and Israeli missions abroad,” Netanyahu said in video he released on social media. “Let us all unite with the grief of the families and pray for the wounded. Blessed are those who perish.”
Netanyahu continued, “There were heartbreaking scenes here. People who were crushed to death, including children.”
National days of mourning are rare and testify to the extreme tragedy that occurred in Meron last week. National days of mourning were held after Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1955 and after a tragic helicopter crash killed 73 IDF soldiers in 1997.
Days of mourning were also declared after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the 9/11 attacks.
Forty-five people had been crushed to death after large crowds triggered a stampede in a narrow walkway at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron. Preliminary reports painted a picture of chaos, in which police and rescue forces struggled to gain control over the panicked crowd numbering as much as 300,000 people.
In interviews and on social media, former high-ranking police officers described how the lack of effective
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