HaRav Shmuel Rabinowitz, the Rav of the Kosel and Mekomos HaKedoshim and head of the Va’adas HaChamisha, the “Committee of Five,” which is in charge of the Kever Shimon Bar Yochai complex, testified on Monday to the state commission of inquiry into the Meron disaster, which began its first hearings on Sunday. Rav Rabinowitz began by emphasizing that although the Va’adas HaChamisha is responsible for the Kever complex itself, it is not responsible, and cannot be responsible for what goes on at Meron on Lag B’Omer. “If the state had told me that I’m responsible for the Lag B’Omer event, I would have resigned immediately,” he said, explaining that the Va’adas HaChamisha does not have the capability or manpower to be responsible for such a large and complex event. The Kosel Rav clarified that the Lag B’Omer event is the responsibility of the National Center for the Development of the Holy Places and Israel Police, and this point has been agreed upon by the Deputy Attorney General. Rav Rabinowitz continued by saying that when the Va’adas HaChamisha was formed in 2008, the Meron site was in significantly worse shape than it is now and he insisted on and implemented many changes. “The situation there was terrible – no infrastructure, illegal construction, power cables everywhere. We had to fight a war over every brick we wanted to move. I made a decision that it was forbidden to give in because the site was very dangerous. Any child could have touched an electric cord and been electrocuted.” The commission members asked whether he was aware of safety issues regarding Gesher Dov, the narrow passageway where the disaster occurred. Rav Rabinowitz responded that the safety advisors the committee hired in 2008 and afterward didn’t mention anything about Gesher Dov. Rav Rabinowitz added that he did think that “the whole area looked like the third-world. We requested to plan and rebuild everything and started working on a plan to renovate the entire area.” When asked what he thinks should be done for the future, he responded: “Either the hadlakos should be moved to another place or canceled altogether, except for the hadlaka of the Boyaner chassidus, which has an ancient mesorah.” Rav Rabinowitz said that he welcomes the state commission of inquiry, mentioning that he was personally affected by the tragedy, as he lost his nephew, Menachem Asher Zekbach, z’l, 24, a resident of Modiin Illit who left behind his pregnant wife. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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