I'll start from the end. This year, unfortunately, I too will not be participating in the Rashbi's celebration at the Meron Etrah Kadisha.
Since I was a little boy, there has hardly been a year in which I have missed participating in Hilula Kadisha. Meron, all year round, and even more so on Lag BaOmer, is truly a part of my being - a feeling that I am sure many Jerusalemites share.
My privilege has grown even more in the past three years, in which I was privileged to lead the preparations for Hilula Kadisha, and in 2003 and 2005, with divine help, we succeeded in holding the sublime ceremonies with a royal majority, with the participation of tens of thousands of your people Israel.
In the past year, after I retired from the government, at the behest of the Council of Torah Scholars, I continued, with the blessing of the rabbis and rebbes, to accompany in my role as a member of Knesset the preparations for Hilula, alongside those engaged in the sacred work.
However, last Friday, July 7, we were shocked to hear about the cabinet's decision to "cancel the celebration." Those involved in the work at the Ministry of Jerusalem and Jewish Tradition did not despair in the face of the decree, and with great creativity formulated an interim outline that was approved by the Home Front Command.
On the other hand, high-ranking government officials acted with all their might against this plan, piling up difficulties upon difficulties in order to thwart the arrival of the thousands for the celebration. This culminated in the Home Front Command's new decision last Friday, the 14th of Iyar, to tighten the restrictions, which in effect do not allow the celebration events to take place.
I will refrain at this time from expressing my opinion regarding the decisions that were made. What I heard in the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee hearings - I heard, and what I said in the hearing with the Prime Minister - I said. I was not a party to the decision that was made later and I do not agree with it, and I will not expand beyond that.
The current state of affairs is that the Rashbi's celebration in Meron will no longer be in a format that meets the outline I established "in prayer, in safety, and in joy.".
This hurts me very much. The memories of the Rashbi Hillula in 5700, 5771, 5772, and 5774 are deeply etched in my mind, and the knowledge that we will no longer celebrate the Hillula as a regular event is very sad.
I expect that despite this, the lessons that can still be learned will be learned. As I said in the Knesset plenary during a debate on the Meron Law, even before the security picture in the north became clear. "I want to emphasize that what happened in 2014 cannot be repeated. It will be up to the professionals, together with the police, to formulate a more balanced outline, one that does not end in unbearable scenes of violence and riots.".
I really hope the message gets through.
The majority of the Jewish people will not be able to realize their expectation of participating in Hilula Kadisha this year, and I will be with them in this pain. Although I have the opportunity, as someone who "enjoys" parliamentary immunity, to go to Meron - I do not feel it is appropriate for me to do so while you, my dear brothers, the people of Meron, cannot do so.
Together with you, each in his own city or with his rabbi, we will try to rejoice in the joy of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, from a distance of place and a closeness of heart, and we will reflect on our actions and take stock of why the pilgrimage to Meron on Lag BaOmer, an act that was so natural in the past, has become over the years such a great difficulty and challenge, and sometimes even impossible.
From Jerusalem, the Holy City, we will all shout together: 1-B-T-L!!!
