Posted on 07/14/21
| News Source: Times of Israel
A proposal to compensate families of victims of the April 30 disaster at Mount Meron — which left 45 people dead and over 150 injured in a deadly crush — failed to pass a preliminary Knesset vote Wednesday.
The bill, submitted by opposition MK Ya’akov Asher (United Torah Judaism), was shot down 59-55, as the government said it had not yet formulated a position on the matter, according to a minister in the Finance Ministry, Hamad Amar.
The bill proposed a financial framework to assist the victims of the Meron disaster, which included the formation of a committee that would formulate criteria for the compensation, including the number of victims in a family and its sources of income.
However, Amar — who is from the Yisrael Beytenu party — said the current wording of the law would lead to excessive costs. He said his office would examine the budgetary implications at a later date.
The committee that Asher proposed would be comprised of 11 members, including representatives of the Justice Ministry, Labor Welfare and Social Services Ministry, Finance Ministry, Health Ministry, Public Security Ministry, Religious Affairs Ministry, Prime Minister’s Office, National Insurance Institute, two public officials as well as a retired judge,