The Politics of Exception: Ex-Territoriality and the Meron Disaster

Abstract In the aftermath of the Meron disaster, where 45 people lost their lives during a Lag BaOmer celebration, it became evident that the tragedy stemmed from that most Israeli of solutions: the art of managing intractable problems through strategic nonmanagement. The site where the disaster occurred, at the entrance to the Toldos Aharon Hasidic group’s ceremonial area, exemplifies how ultra-Orthodox communities navigate autonomy within Israel’s complex system of holy site management. This pattern reflects broader dynamics in Israeli society’s tendency to transform temporary improvisations into permanent institutions. The preservation of such arrangements has evolved from makeshift solutions to governance practice, particularly visible in contexts of religious significance, ethnic complexity, and contested sovereignty, from holy sites and Haredi communities to natural resources and border regions. Through examination of the Meron case alongside other instances of negotiated authority, this article demonstrates how ex-territorial arrangements in Israel serve not merely as practical responses to seemingly intractable conflicts, but as spaces where governance ambiguity becomes institutionalized. While these arrangements facilitate coexistence of competing claims, they simultaneously create regulatory vacuums where even basic safety considerations remain unaddressed. The Meron disaster thus illuminates not only the specific challenges of holy site management, but also the broader paradox of a modern state where the preservation of ambiguity has evolved into a characteristic mode of governance.