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Germany: Firefighters Awarded for Jewish Cemetery Clean-up, School Raises Funds for Cemetery Restoration, Hedge to Protect Kerpen Jewish Cemetery from Construction, Restored Burial Hall Inaugurated in Bad Nauheim Cemetery – Malta: Row over Jewish Remains in Catacombs – United Kingdom:Liverpool Jewish Cemetery Applies for Lottery Funding. |
Young Firefighters in Germany Awarded for Maintaining Jewish Cemetery
26 February 2009 – The young firefighters of the German city of Billerbeck were awarded a regional prize for maintaining the local Jewish cemetery. Twice a year, they clean the local Jewish cemetery and remove excess vegetation. The award, worth 1,000 euros, is sponsored by the RWE energy company and was presented to the young fire fighters by the mayor during an official ceremony. Read the original article (in German).
Row over Jewish Remains in Malta Catacombs
22 February 2009 – Controversy has erupted between the Maltese Jewish community and the country’s heritage authorities over the fate of Jewish remains located inside catacombs that date back to the late Roman period some 1,500 years ago. The Jewish community is demanding that the human bones receive a burial according to Jewish rites. Recently, a delegation of Israeli and US experts travelled to the island in order to carry out the burial, but was prevented from doing so by the Maltese authorities, which consider the site to be of unique archaeological value. The St Paul’s catacombs in the island’s city of Rabat were discovered in the late 19th century and have never been accessible to the public. They are currently being restored with EU funds. Read the original Times of Malta article.
School Raises Funds for Restoration of Jewish Cemetery in Eastern Germany
17 February 2009 – Thanks to the efforts undertaken by an educational project at the Templin secondary school in Eastern Germany, funds for restoring the city’s Jewish cemetery have been made available. As a result of heavy rainfall in the summer of 2007, parts of the cemetery’s wall were destroyed and bones washed to the surface. The situation prompted a local teacher to launch a combined educational and restoration project involving a number of his pupils and financed by the local Protestant congregation. The project secured public funding for a 500 kg memorial stone, which was unveiled in November last year. This year, 65,000 euros from the municipal budget will be allocated to the restoration of the cemetery’s wall.Read the original article (in German).
Hedge to Protect Kerpen Jewish Cemetery from Construction
16 February 2009 – Works for planting a hedge consisting of trees and bushes have begun in the German city of Kerpen. The 12-meter wide hedge will be planted around the city’s Jewish cemetery and is intended to protect the site from future construction of a mall right next to the burial ground. Read the original article (in German).
Liverpool Jewish Cemetery Applies for Lottery Funding
13 February 2009 – Liverpool’s Deane Road Jewish cemetery has applied for lottery funding. If the bid for more than £200,000 is successful, the burial ground will be completely restored. Opened in 1837, the cemetery has about 750 gravestones. The last burial at the site took place in 1929. Read the original article in the Liverpool Echo.
Restored Burial Hall Inaugurated in Bad Nauheim Cemetery
6 February 2009 – In the German city of Bad Nauheim, a restored burial hall located in the Jewish section of the municipal cemetery was inaugurated. Representatives of the Jewish and Protestant community, as well as local politicians attended the official inauguration. The restoration had been financed by private donations and a municipal subsidy of 67,000 euros. Read the original article (in German).
