About 400 policemen re-enforced by army units and squads of border police were deployed around Safad and nearby Miron in Galilee today to protect tens of thousands of Israelis coming to celebrate Lag B’Omer eve at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. The pilgrimage is mainly by the Sephardic community but many Ashkenazic religious groups have already arrived and set up tent cities where vendors are hawking special foods and drinks.
The ceremonies began this afternoon with a procession carrying Torah scrolls from Safad to Miron. A huge bonfire will be lighted tonight at the gravesite on a mountain top. The proximity of the area to the Lebanese border prompted the heavy security precautions against possible terrorist assaults on the throngs of pilgrims.
A warning that terrorist activities may be resumed from Jordanian territory as a result of the recent accord between Jordan and Syria was issued today by Gen. Raphael Eytan, commander of the northern front.
Addressing youths of the Moshavim (cooperative settlement) Movement at Nahalal in the Jezreel Valley, Eytan said, however, that the Palestinian terrorists did not pose a serious military problem. The Israeli army, he said, must be prepared to battle large Arab regular forces in another war which will be fought on three fronts since Jordan has reportedly pledged to participate in the next Arab war against Israel.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
