‘These Things Happen’: Israel’s Netanyahu Shrugs Off Culpability for 2021 Meron Stampede

45 Orthodox Jews perished and 150 others were wounded in a stampede on Mount Meron in April 2021 during a religious festival. A probe into the disaster – the deadliest in Israel’s history – is underway, but survivors have blamed police for their slow reaction, and local authorities for not maintaining the pilgrimage site properly.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed any personal responsibility for last year’s deadly crowd crush on Mount Meron, assuring that he didn’t know “that there was a critical safety problem,” and saying he was not involved in event planning beyond coronavirus-related restrictions.

“I take responsibility for what was in front of me, and that was the epidemiological disaster and that I prevented. I cannot take responsibility for something I did not know,” Netanyahu said, speaking to investigators from a state-appointed commission of inquiry on Thursday.

“There are hundreds, if not thousands of safety issues even right now, a disaster could happen at any moment, you can’t respond to every single one. These things happen,” he added.

Netanyahu, who was summoned late last month to serve as the commission’s final witness, insisted that he “only actually saw a small fraction” of the “countless letters and requests” he had received as prime minister for various events, and that bureaucrats from his office signed off on authorizing the Mount Meron event.

The Likud opposition leader also suggested that “we are all experts in hindsight,” and that if he could “go back today,” he would have acted “differently.”

Netanyahu dismissed a commission question about why safety concerns at the site raised repeatedly over his 12 years in office were not dealt with, saying his government did take steps “to deal with the various problems at the mount.”

The commission is now expected to summarize its findings, and publish conclusions regarding who it considers responsible for the stampede. The commission has already accused government ministers of essentially turning a “blind eye” to the ceremony, not providing attendees with an exemption on the coronavirus rules in place at the time, which limited public gatherings to no more than 100 people, but not enforcing the restrictions either.

About 100,000 people, mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews, flocked to Mount Meron in northern Israel to mark their annual pilgrimage to the tomb of ancient Judean scholar Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai on the Jewish religious holiday of Lag BaOmer. 45 men and boys were killed, and 150 others were injured as pilgrims attempted to make their way out of the mountainside compound were the celebration was held along a metal floor that had turned slippery by spilled drinks.

Lag BaOmer is celebrated mostly by the Haredi Orthodox Jews, who strictly adhere to Jewish religious laws and make up about 12 percent of Israel’s population. This community is highly conservative in their beliefs and social customs, have a mostly negative attitude toward Zionism and the State of Israel in general, and are often allowed to avoid universal conscription or enjoy deferred or reduced service.

Netanyahu’s testimony in the Mount Meron probe is the latest legal hurdle the 72-year-old career politician faces as he prepares another run for prime minister. He has also been indicted on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, and accused of abusing a mentally unstable Australian billionaire.