JERUSALEM — The staging structure for Israel’s annual Independence Day remembrance ceremonies at Mount Herzl this week fell during military rehearsals April 18, killing an IDF officer and injuring seven other military personnel. Four involved with the staging setup were arrested for negligence. The ceremonies will proceed at the site as scheduled, with recognition for victim, Second Lt. Hila Betzaleli, 20, who was laid to rest near the site shortly after the accident occurred.
Although initial reports indicated that wind might have been the key factor, investigators are now focusing on the possibility that a cable supporting one of the 15-meter-high lighting structure’s four columns failed, and that the other three columns toppled after the first one fell. Investigators are also questioning why rehearsals for the ceremony were taking place while the lighting rig was being prepared. The lighting company providing the fixtures was identified as Kilim Light and Sound.
The four charged with negligence resulting in death include Elad Levi and Oren Varshebski, who co-own Design Group; Itzik Tzuker, a safety consultant; and Meir Sela, an event producer, according to published reports. Design Group noted that the structure had been erected prior to rehearsals and had been checked by safety engineers before it collapsed.
(News reports included a number of alternate spellings for those named here, including: Hila Betzaleli, alt: Hila Bezaleli; Elad Levi, alt: Elad Lavie; Oren Varshebski, alt: Oren Varshavky, Oren Warshavsky; Itzik Tzuker, alt: Itzik Zucker, Yitzhak Zuker; and Meir Sela, alt: Alex Sela.)
