EREV YOM TOV CRISIS: Kivrei Tzaddikim And Holy Sites Across Eretz Yisroel Face Closure

The Religious Services Ministry announced Tuesday that holy sites across Eretz Yisroel face closure to visitors at the end of August after the Supreme Court froze funding required for their operation, according to reporting by Ynet.

The closures would take effect approximately one and a half weeks before Rosh Hashanah, during a period when tens of thousands traditionally visit kivrei tzaddikim and other holy sites for Selichos and tefillah in preparation for the Yomim Noraim.

Religious Services Ministry Director-General Yehuda Avidan warned in a letter to Yisrael Deri, deputy director-general of the National Center for the Development of Holy Places, that "without an approved source of funding, the organization cannot continue operating." Avidan stated that unless a solution emerges by the end of August, operations at the national center and its various holy sites will cease at the beginning of September.

The funding crisis stems from a Supreme Court decision that froze allocations approved by the Knesset Finance Committee for religious needs and Chareidi education networks. Justice Alex Stein cited procedural flaws in the committee's discussion and ordered the transfers remain frozen pending review by a three-justice panel.

Among the frozen allocations is NIS 33 million designated for operation and management of major holy sites, including Kever Rochel Imeinu in Beis Lechem, the tziyun of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron, Kever Shmuel Hanavi and Kever Dovid Hamelech in Yerushalayim.

Without resolution of the funding dispute in coming weeks, the sites could close precisely as Klal Yisroel enters the Yomim Noraim season and thousands prepare to visit them for tefillah.