The Knesset Arrangement Committee, headed by MK Karin Elharar (Yesh Atid), was the site of a fraught discussion on Monday over the question of establishing a government commission of inquiry to probe the Mount Meron stampede on Lag B'Omer, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of participants in the annual event.
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Elharer ordered two MKs – Orit Struck and Simcha Rotman – to leave the room, claiming that they were interfering in the discussion. Later, MK Itamar Ben-Gvir was also sent out, and accused Elharer of "exploiting her role in order to silence people."
In a committee vote, 19 MKs voted in favor of a bill by MK Miki Levy (Yesh Atid) to establish a commission of inquiry into the Lag B'Omer events at Mount Meron, while 13 MKs voted against it. When Elharrar announced that the vote would proceed, MKs from the right-wing bloc left the room.
Despite the opposition from representatives of the Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Religious Zionist parties, Levy's bill to establishment a commission of inquiry was passed in committee and given an exemption from the formal presentation process.
Nearly a month after the civilian disaster that claimed the lives of their loved ones, families of the Meron victims broke silence on Monday and published an open letter signed "Forum of the Bereaved Families of the Meron Holy Ones" in which they demanded an independent government commission of inquiry.
In the letter, sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the families write, "To our great sorrow, in recent days voices have emerged that are seeking a committee of inquiry that is not an independent, governmental one. We want to say aloud, unequivocally, and unmistakably – speaking as one family – that we demand an independent commission of inquiry. We believe that only a government commission of inquiry will complete the investigation fully."
After the letter was made public, associates of Haredi MKs began reaching out to the bereaved families in an attempt to persuade them to line up against a government investigation of the Meron events.
On Monday, associates of MKs contacted at least six of the families who lost loved ones in the Mount Meron stampede and asked them to sign a petition against a commission of inquiry.
Israel Hayom has learned that despite the fact that the letter to Netanyahu was signed by individuals, most of the bereaved families – 37 – back the proposed government inquiry. One bereaved father said, "We need to prevent the next disaster, it hurts so much that they are trying to soften the commission of inquiry."
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