Arutz Sheva reports that Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov has announced that the kever of Rav Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron will be listed as an “official tourist attraction” and marketed to Yidden around the world. In a press release, the ministry noted that the site attracts close to 400,000 people each year on Lag Ba’omer and nearly a million visitors throughout the year.The Tourism Ministry has invested 7 million shekel to develop the area around the kever over the past year, improving walkways, parking lots, traffic planning, lighting, water systems and trash facilities, as well as security, firefighting, ambulance and police services in the area.
“This place has huge potential that hasn’t been fulfilled yet,” said ministry spokesman Amnon Lieberman, who claimed that the site is the second-most visited religious site in Eretz Yisroel after the Kosel.
{Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}
