Chronology of Jewish Rituals in Israel Leaves the Deaths of 44 People

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –

Religious ceremonies of the people Jewish, Lag B’Omer, which takes place at one of the holiest pilgrimage sites Israel ended in death on Thursday (29/4).

At least 44 of the tens of thousands of Israeli Jews died as a result of cramming during the Lag B’omer ceremony on Mount Meron, Galilee. A total of 150 worshipers were also injured as a result of the incident.

The incident was reported to have occurred on Thursday at midnight to be precise at 01.00 local time. At that time, tens of thousands of congregants held a bonfire ceremony which was held near the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai.

Rabbi Shimon’s tomb is the center of the annual Jewish pilgrimage and a centerpiece of the Lag B’Omer ceremony.

According to reports Times of IsraelAccording to authorities’ initial reports, a sea of ​​congregants was seen filling the rink as the campfire session took place. Most of the pilgrims were even packed.

During the ceremony, the congregation sang, prayed, and danced together. Due to overcapacity, one part of the arena stands collapsed, causing the congregation to start falling and being trampled, including the children.

The incident caused panic in other congregants, most of them trying to escape from the crowd until there was a shoving. One by one the congregation in the crowd fell.

One survivor said he slipped before falling between the sea of ​​people and being trampled. He was trapped between the legs of the other congregation for nearly 10 minutes before one of the people helped him.

“I felt someone pushing me, he just wanted to move and hit me. I felt I couldn’t breathe at that time. Nobody knew what to do,” he told Kan broadcaster.

“It started with a very crowded crowd. There were many people above me. I was lying on top of other people who were not breathing. There were screams and chaos everywhere, I even saw children below me,” he explained. add.

The chaos was exacerbated when most of the congregation refused to heed police orders to get out of the arena immediately.

Kan reported that the police could not do much and did not force the congregation to leave the scene because there were too many people in the area.

The crowd, who refused the police’s orders, stood a few meters from where the congregation was trampled and died.

One of the congregations did not even take the tragedy seriously.

“It doesn’t matter. They are blocking our path for no reason. I want to worship. Look what they do to the Jews,” said the congregation.

Until Friday (30/4) morning, thousands of people were still staying on Mount Meron, some of them were still holding religious ceremonies by dancing and singing.

Meanwhile, some of the other congregations were detained from evacuation due to lack of transportation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regretted the tragedy which he considered a “catastrophic”. Netanyahu also reportedly rushed to visit Mount Meron to inspect the location of the incident.

(rds/ayp)

[Gambas:Video CNN]

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