Close to three years since the 24 May 2001 Versailles Wedding Hall catastrophe, the state appointed Zeiler Commission stated the next "Versailles tragedy" may occur at any time.
23 persons were killed when the multi-story Jerusalem wedding hall collapsed and 341 were taken to area hospitals. It was determined that the Pal-kal construction method used in the wedding hall was substandard and other buildings constructed in the same fashion must be reinforced to avoid another disaster. The Israel Standards Institute banned the Pal-kal method in the 1990s, but there are thousands of buildings still in existence presenting a structural hazard, according to experts from Haifa’s Technion University.
Justice Vardi Zeiler, who headed the commission, stated openly he is well aware that all or most of the recommendations in the comprehensive 400-page report will not be implemented as is the case with the reports of most government commissions of inquiry in Israel.
23 persons were killed when the multi-story Jerusalem wedding hall collapsed and 341 were taken to area hospitals. It was determined that the Pal-kal construction method used in the wedding hall was substandard and other buildings constructed in the same fashion must be reinforced to avoid another disaster. The Israel Standards Institute banned the Pal-kal method in the 1990s, but there are thousands of buildings still in existence presenting a structural hazard, according to experts from Haifa’s Technion University.
Justice Vardi Zeiler, who headed the commission, stated openly he is well aware that all or most of the recommendations in the comprehensive 400-page report will not be implemented as is the case with the reports of most government commissions of inquiry in Israel.