Meron, Israel

Meron מירון‎ ميرون
The tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron
Meron Show map of Northeast Israel Meron Show map of Israel
Coordinates: 32°58′55″N 35°26′25″E / 32.98194°N 35.44028°E / 32.98194; 35.44028
Country	Israel
District	Northern
Council	Merom HaGalil
Affiliation	Hapoel HaMizrachi
Founded	2000 BCE (Canaanite city) 1200 BCE (Israelite City) 750 CE (Meiron) 1949 (Israeli moshav)
Population  (2022)[1]	1,136

Meron (Hebrew: מֵירוֹן, Meron) is a moshav in northern Israel. Located on the slopes of Mount Meron in the Upper Galilee near Safed, it falls under the jurisdiction of Merom HaGalil Regional Council.

Meron is most famous for the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and is the site of annual mass public commemoration of Lag Ba'Omer. The association of Meron with the ancient Canaanite city of Merom or Maroma is generally accepted by archaeologists. According to Avraham Negev, by the Second Temple period, Merom was known as Meron. Meron is mentioned in the Bible as the site of Joshua's victory over the Canaanite kings.^[2] In the 12th century, Benjamin de Tudela visited Meron and described a cave with tombs, believed to hold the remains of Hillel, Shammai, and "twenty of their disciples and other Rabbis". In 1931, Meron consisted of an Arab and Jewish quarter (see Meiron). The current town was founded by the Hapoel HaMizrachi movement in 1949 on the ruins of the depopulated Palestinian village of Meiron, with an initial population of Orthodox soldiers discharged after the war.^[3][4][5][6]

In 2022 it had a population of 1,136.^[1]

On 30 April 2021, the deadliest civil disaster in the history of Israel occurred at Meron. 45 people were crushed to death while trying to exit through a narrow passage, at the mass gathering to celebrate the holiday of Lag BaOmer.^[7]