Israel predicts funeral for Rabbi Kanievsky will be largest in Israeli history.
Published March 20, 2022
(March 20, 2022 / JNS) As many as a million people are expected to attend the funeral on Sunday of Rabbi Chaim Kanievksy, who died Friday afternoon in his home in Bnei Brak at the age of 94. He was considered among the top tier of this generation’s Torah leadership and had hundreds of thousands of followers.
The funeral is slated to take place in Bnei Brak at 12 p.m. Israel time.
Highways throughout Israel will be closed and the entrance to Bnei Brak blocked for the burial, which will take place in the Ponevezh community cemetery in the city.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett held a situational assessment on Saturday night in anticipation of the event with the country’s internal security minister, the police commissioner and others. The IDF is also on alert. Police told Israeli media that they are concerned that the large crowds of mourners could lead to a disaster even of the scale of the Mount Meron stampede, which occurred last Lag B’Omer.
“Hopefully, the lessons from the Meron disaster will be applied and every participant will be able to return home safely. A million people at a funeral in an area of just one kilometer is a real danger,” the Forum of Families of Meron Victims said in a statement to the Israel Police over the weekend.