Bodybags at the scene of the Mount Meron disaster, April 30, 2021 (Screenshot)
However, neither of these two probes has the authority to investigate relevant ministers, including the ministers of public security, interior and religious affairs, and the prime minister himself, all of whom were involved in various meetings relating to preparations for the event.
Both national Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and Northern Command chief Shimon Lavi are set to be called to give testimony to the PIID probe.
Israael police Northern Command chief Shimon Lavi, at Mt Meron, on April 30, 2021. (YouTube screenshot)
Lavi said soon after the disaster that he bore “overall responsibility” for the event and thus for its consequences. A Channel 13 report said, however, that he does not intend to resign.
A year after the program of volunteers from abroad to work on
kibbutzim was frozen following the spread of the coronavirus around the world, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri agreed to the numerous requests from the Kibbutz Movement to reopen the skies for those who want to come and volunteer.
With the spread of the coronavirus throughout the world and in Israel in March of last year, the Kibbutz Movement halted the entry of international volunteers into the country. Despite the various difficulties and complexities, the kibbutz movement continued to run the program in a limited way, allowing the volunteers who remained in the country to experience up close a kibbutz community in crisis. Throughout that period, hundreds of inquiries continued to arrive from interested parties and partner organizations from abroad who were just waiting for the skies to open for volunteers to enter the country.
69 shares
Presenters at a memorial event for ultra-Orthodox soldiers in Jerusalem on April 13, 2021. (screen capture: YouTube/ Bogrei Netzah Yehuda)
Among countless Memorial Day events taking place around the country on Tuesday evening was a ceremony in Jerusalem dedicated to commemorating ultra-Orthodox Israel Defense Forces soldiers who died in battle.
Hundreds of members of bereaved families attended the event, along with Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, Jerusalem’s Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, and members of the ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda battalion.
The ceremony, now in its third year, focused on the connection between Haredi soldiers and all segments of Israeli society. It was organized by the Netzah Yehuda Association, which helps Haredi soldiers in the IDF.
Noam party chairman Avi Maoz (Noam Party)
Within that group are three members openly hostile to LGBT rights, including Avi Maoz, leader of the Noam party.
Activist Or Keshet said Maoz had made demeaning homosexuality the centerpiece of his political career.
“Already during the 2019 elections, when it first appeared, Noam was targeting the LGBT community with humiliating slogans bordering on incitement to hatred,” Keshet told AFP ahead of Tuesday’s demonstration.
In a campaign clip from that election, Noam compared Reform Jews, left-wing activists and LGBT rights activists to Nazis and accused them of wanting to “destroy” the Jewish people.
At 24th Knesset s swearing-in, Rivlin pleads with lawmakers to end deadlock timesofisrael.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesofisrael.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.