The annual Lag BaOmer hilula at Meron will not take place this year, after a senior government official announced the cancellation due to a breakdown in coordination between key ministries responsible for the event.

Shimon Elbaum, Director-General of the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, which oversees the Meron celebration, informed the Director-General of the Ministry of Transportation and Road Safety that under the current conditions, the event cannot proceed. The decision follows disagreements over transportation arrangements, with the Transportation Ministry arguing that the proposed plan is unsafe and that it would be unable to evacuate large crowds in the event of a mass-casualty incident.

In his letter, Elbaum wrote that “in coordination with Minister Shlomo Karchi, and after it became clear that the Ministry of Transportation is not implementing the required transportation system in accordance with the government decision, the law, and the approved outline, I would like to clarify the following: according to the Temporary Law for the Regulation of the Hilula of Rav Shimon Bar Yochai, 2026, it was established that access to the Meron site during the hilula will be permitted exclusively via designated public transportation and designated travel tickets.”

He continued, “This directive constitutes a fundamental condition for maintaining controlled and limited entry in accordance with Home Front Command guidelines. The restricted outline for operating the hilula was approved by all security authorities and is based on regulating crowd movement and controlling the number of people present at any given moment. Failure to operate the transportation system in accordance with the approved outline does not allow for the implementation of this mechanism. This directly harms the ability to enforce the outline in line with Home Front Command instructions.”

Elbaum warned that without proper transportation coordination, serious public safety risks would emerge. “In such a situation, significant disturbances are expected to arise, including unusual congestion, uncontrolled crowd movement, and a real risk of clashes with law enforcement forces.”

He concluded that since the Ministry of Transportation does not intend to fulfill its role in executing the approved plan, the event cannot be held safely. “Under these circumstances, and with great regret, we are compelled to announce that in the year 2026, no Lag BaOmer hilula events will take place in Meron.”

The letter further stated that responsibility for the consequences of the cancellation would rest with the Transportation Ministry. “It should be clarified that responsibility for all resulting consequences, including risks to public safety, overcrowding, public disorder, and danger to human life, will lie with the Ministry of Transportation.”