Meron (, Meron) is a moshav in northern Israel. Located on the slopes of Mount Meron in the Upper Galilee near Safed, it falls under the jurisdiction of Merom HaGalil Regional Council. Meron is most famous for the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and is the site of annual mass public commemoration of Lag Ba'Omer. The association of Meron with the ancient Canaanite city of Merom or Maroma is generally accepted by archaeologists. According to Avraham Negev, by the Second Temple period, Merom was known as Meron. Meron is mentioned in the Bible as the site of Joshua's victory over the Canaanite kings. In the 12th century, Benjamin de Tudela visited Meron and described a cave with tombs, believed to hold the remains of Hillel, Shammai, and "twenty of their disciples and other Rabbis". In 1931, Meron consisted of an Arab and Jewish quarter (see Meiron). The current town was founded by the Hapoel HaMizrachi movement in 1949 on the ruins of the depopulated Palestinian village of Meiron, with an initial population of Orthodox soldiers discharged after the war. In it had a population of . On 30 April 2021, the deadliest civil disaster in the history of Israel occurred at Meron. 45 people were crushed to death while trying to exit through a narrow passage, at the mass gathering to celebrate the holiday of Lag BaOmer. Geography Meron is noted for its mountainous terrain and valleys. Among the local attractions are the Meron Vineyards. Meron is conducive to growing grapes for wine as a result of its 600-meter altitude and chalky soil. The vineyard was first planted in 2000 and is part of the Galil Mountain Winery, headquartered in nearby Kibbutz Yiron. History Bronze and Iron Ages The association of Meron with the ancient Canaanite city of Merom or Maroma is generally accepted, though the absence of hard archaeological evidence means other sites a little further north, such as Marun ar-Ras or Jebel Marun, have also been considered. Merom is mentioned in 2nd milleniun BCE Egyptian sources, and in Tiglath-pileser III's accounts of his expedition to the Galilee in 733–732 BCE (where it is transcribed as Marum). Soundings conducted below the floors of houses excavated in the 1970s indicate the presence of even earlier structures with a different layout. While these lower levels have not yet been excavated, the possibility that they date back to the Early Bronze