AFTER HIGH COURT RULING: Kosel Rav Warns Of Pikuach Nefesh At Meron, Threatens To Resign From Committee

The Kosel Rav, HaRav Shmuel Rabinowitz, has issued a warning regarding safety risks at holy sites in Israel following a High Court decision that froze budget transfers approved by the Knesset Finance Committee for religious services and educational networks.

The Religious Services Ministry announced this week that without adequate funding, all operations of the National Center for the Development of Holy Sites would cease at the beginning of September. Ministry officials characterized the situation as posing a genuine risk of pikuach nefesh at the kever of Rashbi in Meron and other holy sites, particularly ahead of Selichos and the Yamim Noraim.

"The situation at the holy sites has reached a red line," Ministry officials stated.

In response, Rav Rabinowitz sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon warning that he will resign from the "Vaadas HaChamisha", the committee overseeing the Rashbi complex and other holy sites, unless the budget is resolved immediately. In his letter, Rav Rabinowitz stated that the situation constitutes pikuach nefesh "without exaggeration, both at the Rashbi complex and at other holy sites."

He noted that hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected at these sites ahead of the Yamim Noraim, five years after the Meron disaster. "Operating such a complex and sensitive site without an approved budget and stable management would pose serious safety and security risks," He wrote.

Rav Rabinowitz warned that as chairman of the Committee of Five, he cannot shoulder the responsibility without immediate budget resolution, and he will be forced to resign. He concluded that paralyzing the National Center ahead of the Yamim Tovim will jeopardize visitor safety and security, requiring urgent legal and budgetary intervention.