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Prime Minister Netanyahu Should Take Responsibility in Meron Disaster
Ultra Orthodox Jews look at stairs with waste on it in Mount Meron, northern Israel, where fatalities were reported among the thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered at the tomb of a 2nd-century sage for annual commemorations that include all-night prayer and dance, April 30, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/ Ronen Zvulun
King Saul was returning triumphantly from the battle against Amalek. Even then, he may have been trying to silence that still, small voice of conscience that was quietly calling out to him:
Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you to Hashem, I have fulfilled Hashem’s word.” Samuel said, “And what is this sound of flocks in my ears, and the sound of cattle that I hear?” (Shmuel Alef 15:13-14)
Saul stubbornly refused to take responsibility until, faced with the undeniable facts and the loss of his kingdom, he acknowledged his wrongdoing.
In contrast, following King David’s sin with Bathsheba, when David was confronted by Nathan the prophet, who pronounced, “You are the man!” — David immediately admitted, “I have sinned to Hashem.”
In response, Nathan announced, “Even Hashem has removed your sin; you will not die.” (Shmuel Bet 12:13)
David did not lose his kingdom because he accepted responsibility. Saul lost his kingdom because he refused to accept responsibility.
This demonstrates an obvious truism in the Jewish understanding of leadership: leaders sometimes make mistakes, but the leaders who deserve and maintain their positions accept responsibility once they realize that they are culpable.
Which brings us to the disgraceful response of the Likud Party to the findings of a state commission of inquiry established to investigate the Meron disaster of April 2021.
During Lag B’Omer celebrations that year, a crowd stampede at the burial site of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in the Galilee village of Meron led to the deaths of 45 men and boys; 150 people were injured, as well.
Accidents happen, acts of God happen. But accidents that are preventable are not quite accidents; acts of God that were predicted cannot be blamed upon God.
As early as 2008, the State Comptroller determined that the site was not large enough, given the huge number of annual visitors. The Jerusalem Post reported, “Israeli officials had been warned of the challenges at Mount Meron in two State Comptroller’s reports published in 2008 and 2011. Additionally, a 2016 Police report said infrastructure at the site could not safely accommodate the large number of attendees and that the mountain lacked escape routes and access roads to provide rescue in the event of an emergency.” The New York Times wrote that while the government had agreed upon a plan to drastically limit the number of participants because of the coronavirus, the plan “was never implemented because none of the government departments took responsibility for doing so.”
The failure to fulfill responsibilities is not a neutral act. When action is designed to prevent harm, inaction is morally abhorrent.
The state commission of inquiry released its findings, and, according to the Times of Israel, it determined that Prime Minister Netanyahu was “one of a number of officials responsible for the 2021 Meron disaster.” Frankly, for those of us raised to admire Harry Truman’s admonition, “The buck stops here,” it would be hard to absolve Netanyahu even if he had known nothing about the dangers of Meron, given that it happened under his watch.
But according to the Times of Israel, the commission laid blame squarely at his feet, arguing that, “There is a reasonable basis to conclude that Netanyahu knew that the site of Rashbi’s grave… was liable to be a danger to the masses that visit the site, especially on Lag B’Omer. Even if, in the name of caution, we assume Netanyahu didn’t have concrete knowledge of the matter, he should have known about it after the issue was brought to his office many times.”
What was Likud’s response to this damning indictment? To cast aspersions upon the committee itself, calling it a political tool in the hands of former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, and refusing to take any responsibility whatsoever.
This has become Prime Minister Netanyahu’s modus operandi: take credit for anything positive that happens under his watch, refuse to take responsibility for anything that goes wrong, while simultaneously blaming everyone else — much like Saul after the battle against Amalek.
I’m reminded of Gary Wills’ memorable account of the failure of the Catholic Church to take any real blame for creating the conditions that led to the Holocaust. An official commission appointed by Pope John Paul II spent more than 10 years preparing We Remember, which was supposed to be an honest reckoning with the church’s complicity in the murder of six million Jews. According to Wills, “Though expressions of sympathy for Jewish suffering are voiced in the new statement, it devotes more energy to exonerating the church – and excoriating the Nazis for not following church teachings — than to sympathizing with the Holocaust’s victims. The effect is of a sad person toiling up a hill all racked with emotion and ready to beat his breast, only to have him plump down on his knees, sigh heavily – and point at some other fellow who caused all the trouble.” (Papal Sin, p. 13)
I don’t expect Prime Minister Netanyahu to be swayed by the moral failure of We Remember. But I certainly expect that the Israeli voting public remembers, when all is said and done, that the leader of our country chose to look at events that took place during his premiership, surveyed the wreckage of his rule, looked squarely in the eyes of nine million Israelis, and pointed at someone else and said, “He did it.”
Rabbi Scott Kahn is the CEO of Jewish Coffee House (www.jewishcoffeehouse.com) and the host of the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast and co-host of Intimate Judaism. You can see more of his writing at https://scottkahn.substack.com/.
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Germany’s Scholz Rebukes Vance, Defends Europe’s Stance on Hate Speech and Far Right

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks to the media after he met former prisoners following the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West in decades, at the military area of Cologne Bonn Airport in Cologne, Germany, August 1, 2024. Photo: Christoph Reichwein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz delivered a strong rebuke on Saturday to US Vice President JD Vance’s attack on Europe’s stance toward hate speech and the far right, saying it was not right for others to tell Germany and Europe what to do.
Vance lambasted European leaders on Friday, the first day of the Munich Security Conference, accusing them of censoring free speech and criticizing German mainstream parties’ “firewall” against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
“That is not appropriate, especially not among friends and allies. We firmly reject that,” Scholz told the conference on Saturday, adding there were “good reasons” not to work with the AfD.
The anti-immigration party, currently polling at around 20% ahead of Germany’s February 23 national election, has pariah status among other major German parties in a country with a taboo about ultranationalist politics because of its Nazi past.
“Never again fascism, never again racism, never again aggressive war. That is why an overwhelming majority in our country opposes anyone who glorifies or justifies criminal National Socialism,” Scholz said, referring to the ideology of Adolf Hitler’s 1933-45 Nazi regime.
Vance met on Friday with the leader of AfD, after endorsing the party as a political partner — a stance Berlin dismissed as unwelcome election interference.
Referring more broadly to Vance’s criticism of Europe’s curtailing of hate speech, which he has likened to censorship, Scholz said: “Today’s democracies in Germany and Europe are founded on the historic awareness and realization that democracies can be destroyed by radical anti-democrats.
“And this is why we’ve created institutions that ensure that our democracies can defend themselves against their enemies, and rules that do not restrict or limit our freedom but protect it.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot added his voice to the defense of Europe’s stance on hate speech.
“No one is required to adopt our model but no one can impose theirs on us,” Barrot said on X from Munich. “Freedom of speech is guaranteed in Europe.”
UKRAINE
The prospect of talks to end the Ukraine-Russia war had been expected to dominate the annual Munich conference after a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week, but Vance barely mentioned Russia or Ukraine in his speech to the gathering on Friday.
Instead, he said the threat to Europe that worried him most was not Russia or China but what he called a retreat from fundamental values of protecting free speech – as well as immigration, which he said was “out of control” in Europe.
Many conference delegates watched Vance’s speech in stunned silence. There was little applause as he delivered his remarks.
Asked by the panel moderator if he thought there was anything in Vance’s speech worth reflecting on, Scholz drew laughter and applause in the crowd when he responded, in a deadpan manner: “You mean all these very relevant discussions about Ukraine and security in Europe?”
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Trump Team to Start Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks in Saudi Arabia in Coming Days, Politico Reports

US Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) speaks on Day 1 of the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, July 15, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar
Senior officials from US President Donald Trump’s administration will start peace talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Saudi Arabia in the coming days, Politico reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the plan.
US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Saudi Arabia, the report said. Special envoy for Ukraine-Russia talks, Keith Kellogg, will not be in attendance, according to the report.
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UN Peacekeeping Mission Deputy Commander Injured After Convoy Attacked in Beirut

FILE PHOTO: A UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicle is seen next to piled up debris at Beirut’s port, Lebanon October 23, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
The outgoing deputy force commander of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) in Lebanon was injured on Friday after a convoy taking peacekeepers to Beirut airport was “violently attacked,” UNIFIL said.
The mission demanded a full and immediate investigation by Lebanese authorities and for all perpetrators to be brought to justice, it said in a statement.
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun condemned the attack on Saturday, saying that security forces would not tolerate anyone who tries to destabilize the country, according to a statement from his office.
The French government also condemned the attack.
“France calls on the Lebanese security forces to guarantee the security of blue-helmet peacekeeping forces, and calls on Lebanon’s judicial authorities to shed all light on this unacceptable attack and to go after those responsible,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
Lebanon’s Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar called for an emergency meeting before noon on Saturday to discuss the security situation, Lebanese state news agency NNA reported.
“He affirmed the Lebanese government’s rejection of this assault that is considered a crime against UNIFIL forces,” NNA reported, citing the minister.
He also gave instructions to work on identifying the perpetrators and referring them to the relevant judicial authorities.
The minister told reporters on Saturday that more than 25 people had been detained for investigation over the attack.
The United States earlier condemned the attack. A State Department statement said the attack was carried out “reportedly by a group of Hezbollah supporters”, referring to the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon.
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