Residents of the northern village of Meron, where the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai is located, have appealed to the government to cancel the prohibition on renting out their homes and vacation apartments during Lag B'Omer and the surrounding days. Lag B'Omer is the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.
Meron residents have hired two attorneys to represent them, and plan to appeal to the Supreme Court if the government does not accede to their request.
Many residents of Meron make a living by renting out accommodations to visitors, usually providing only very basic amenities and excluding meals. Year-round rents average around NIS 100 per bed, in cottages of around three to four rooms with around four beds per room. However, on Lag B'Omer rents usually rise astronomically, with hundreds of thousands of people arriving from across the country and also from overseas.
This year, the government has decided to prohibit all travel to Meron, with the prohibition having taken force yesterday and lasting until next Wednesday, the day after Lag B'Omer.