Report: Kever of Rashbi to Close to Visitors?

Following the refusal of insurance companies to insure the “Committee of Five” which runs the site of the tziyun of Rashbi in Meron, the site’s manager, Eli Freind, has announced that he can no longer accept responsibility for the site and intends to close it, starting Wednesday at midnight.

“Before the tragedy [last Lag BaOmer], the Committee of Five was continuously insured, throughout all the years, and there were no issues on this matter,” Freind wrote in a letter to Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana (Yamina).

The letter, which was published Monday by Yediot, continued: “An absurd situation has been created, that because of an event which occurred on the day when the State of Israel ran the site, the Committee of Five is paying the price, and now most of its members are at risk of being sued in personal damages suits, if, chalilah, anyone should be harmed at the site.

“The Committee made and makes great efforts to find a solution to the problematic situation that has been created,” he added, noting that despite a recent meeting to discuss the issue, the issue has yet to be solved.

“Due to this situation, I must inform you that if there is not a written insurance solution for the Committee of Five, the Committee will be forced to announce the closure of Rashbi’s kever, starting midnight Wednesday.”