The report of the 2021 Meron tragedy committee of investigation which was published on Wednesday showed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bore personal responsibility for the deaths of 45 people and should resign, opposition leader MK Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) said in a press conference on Wednesday.
“If Netanyahu was a regular citizen, he would be indicted today for causing death by negligence and would be sent to jail. His excuses and explanations in the committee were a pathetic show of cowardice and escaping responsibility,” Lapid said. He added that if Netanyahu remains in power, “the next disaster is a matter of time.”
“Netanyahu is not competent. He should have resigned the day after the tragedy. That is what every other head of state would have done. Now, this report comes and says it all. Out of honor for the victims of the Meron (tragedy), he should go home,” Lapid said.
On the annual celebrations of Lag B’omer on April 30, 2021, 45 men and boys were crushed to death due to overcrowding, and another 102 were injured. The government at the time, led by current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and with then Public Security Minister and current Knesset Speaker MK Amir Ohana, delayed the opening of a committee of investigation, but the Bennett-Lapid government, which was sworn in on June 13, 2021, established the committee one week later. The committee published interim findings ahead of Lag B’omer 2022, and in August 2022 sent 18 “warning letters” to officials who could be affected by the committee’s conclusions, including to Netanyahu and Ohana.
The committee’s report found both Netanyahu and Ohana personally responsible, as well as a long list of other officials and police officers. It did not recommend any personal measures against the prime minister, but recommended that Ohana not serve as Public Security Minister in the future.
National Unity chairman MK Benny Gantz, who joined the government after the Hamas massacre of October 7, also responded to the report, but without mentioning Netanyahu by name.
Response from officials and organization
“The report by the national committee of investigation of the Meron tragedy is first and foremost a life-saving report that must be studied by all government ministries and emergency responders. The 45 believers who came to fulfill a commandment, we cannot return to their families, but we can prevent such difficult disasters in the future. My heart today is with the families of the victims,” Gantz wrote on X.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel (MQG) said in a statement that it welcomed the committee’s work, and that “the conclusions and the personal responsibility imposed on many senior government officials and the police illustrate the seriousness of the failures and negligence that led to this terrible tragedy.”
“At the same time, the Movement again criticizes the committee’s decision not to recommend disciplinary or other measures against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a number of other senior figures. According to the Movement, this unwillingness weakens the committee’s ability to achieve its main goal – preventing the recurrence of similar disasters in the future,” the MQG said.
“The decision to refrain from making recommendations regarding the elected officials diminishes the concept of responsibility and the ability to demand accountability. This is a serious omission that diminishes the impact of some of the report’s most important conclusions,” MQG added.
“The Movement calls on the government to act with more determination to implement all of the committee’s recommendations without bias, and to take all necessary steps to ensure that such a disaster does not occur again. Only full implementation of the required reforms, along with a change in the culture of oversight and enforcement in Israel, will ensure proper protection of civilian lives,” MQG concluded.
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