The Telegraph
Phones of the dead light up with desperate calls as Israeli festival turns into night of horror
In a tunnel at Mount Meron lies a twisted sheet of metal and a body bag, the last remaining signs of the disaster that befell Jewish worshippers in the early hours of Friday morning. The body bag is empty, but the metal sheet has been ripped off the tunnel wall and is covered in dents, a testament to the struggle of those crushed to death. Dozens were killed in the stampede, which erupted as Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community celebrated Lag B’Omer, a festival that honours one of Judaism’s greatest mystical scholars. Thousands of plates of food had been prepared and loudspeakers were blaring out music in the Galilee village, as worshippers gathered for the ceremonial lighting of bonfires. This was the first mass religious gathering to be held in Israel since it lifted…
