The Lag Ba’omer celebration at Meron may not take place this year after Yerushalayim Affairs Ministry Director-General Shimon Elbaum warned that the event cannot proceed without a functioning transportation plan, placing responsibility on the Transportation Ministry for the potential cancellation.

In a strongly worded letter addressed to Transportation Ministry Director-General Moshe Ben Zaken, Elbaum accused the ministry of failing to implement the transportation arrangements required under government directives. He cautioned that unless the issue is resolved, the annual gathering will not be held.

“Following coordination with the responsible minister, Dr. Shlomo Karhi,” Elbaum wrote, “and after it became clear that the Transportation Ministry is not activating the required transportation system in accordance with government decisions, the law, and the approved framework, I wish to clarify the following: As per the law regulating the Lag Ba’omer celebration at Meron, access to the site is permitted only via designated public transportation and special travel tickets. This is a fundamental condition for maintaining controlled and limited entry in line with Home Front Command guidelines.”

Elbaum emphasized that the scaled-down format for the event had already received approval from all relevant security bodies and was designed to carefully manage crowd movement while limiting the number of attendees at any one time.

“Failure to operate the transportation system according to the approved framework makes it impossible to implement this mechanism,” he warned. “This directly undermines the ability to enforce the plan in accordance with Home Front Command directives. In such a situation, serious public disorder, unusual congestion, uncontrolled arrivals, and a real risk of dangerous crowding and clashes with enforcement forces are expected.”

He concluded by stating that without the Transportation Ministry fulfilling its role, the event cannot be conducted safely, making cancellation unavoidable.

“Therefore, since the Transportation Ministry does not intend to fulfill its role in implementing the approved framework, it will not be possible to hold the Lag Ba’omer celebration at Meron in a safe manner. Under these circumstances, and with great regret, we are forced to announce that in 2026 no Lag Ba’omer events will take place at Meron. It should be clarified that responsibility for all consequences stemming from this, including risks to public safety, congestion, disorder, and danger to human life, will rest with the Transportation Ministry.”

Separately, authorities released an updated outline for this year’s Lag Ba’omer observance on Har Meron, which calls for three bonfire-lighting ceremonies under police supervision, each limited to 200 participants.

The revised framework follows a directive issued Friday afternoon by the Home Front Command restricting outdoor gatherings in northern border areas, including Meron, to a maximum of 200 people, while indoor gatherings in those regions are capped at 600 participants.