JEWISH WORLD

By HOWARD BLAS W hen Rabbi Shmuel Halpert, outgoing Knes- set member of the hare- di party Agudat Yisrael, invited Rabbi Isaac Schapira to a meeting in July 2011, Schapira’s life changed forever. He was con- vinced that he had to improve the situation for Jewish cemeteries worldwide, which were suffering from disrepair, neglect and vandal- ism from outside communities. Schapira describes Halpert as a pioneer in fighting for the rescue of Jewish cemeteries. “I don’t know who will continue this fight. I think you and your con- nections are best-suited for it. Just dive in!” said Halpert. And so, Schapira did just that. “It spoke to me. It broke my heart.” He has used resources, connec- tions, bridge-building skills, determination and values that he learned from his late father, Rabbi Avraham Schapira (Knesset member from the Agudat Israel party and chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee) to found the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative. The ESJF was founded in 2015 to begin the process of physically protecting Jewish burial sites in Central and Eastern Europe, par- ticularly in places where Jewish communities were wiped out dur- ing the Holocaust. ESJF has so far placed fences around 102 Jewish cemeteries in six European countries. In addition, it has conducted mass field sur- veys of sites with an impressive 1,500 reports published to date. S chapira is proud that his organ- ization has built an infrastruc- ture that European governments recognize as “professional and economically efficient.” For instance, ESJF has obtained gov- ernmental funding from the federal government of Germany. In Israel, Schapira has managed to assemble an impressive coali- tion of supporters, including Yossi Beilin, scholar — former Knesset and senior Cabinet member, who has held such important govern- ment positions as Minister of Justice and Minister of Religious Affairs. Beilin has served as a board member since 2013. He is actively involved in working with international governments with helping secure financial resources. Acknowledging the compelling nature of the work, he says: “It became a major issue for me. We found out in a short time that we are the only body on the ground doing the work of finding [and then funding] cemeteries in a sys- temic way. We are working with the map and creating a body of knowledge in order to prioritize and address the most endangered cemeteries first.” Knesset members committed to the project include Ksenia Svetlova of the Zionist Union Party, and Rabbi Uri Maklev of the ultra-religious Agudath Yisrael Party. Schapira is proud that mem- bers of diverse parties have come together to address the issue of European cemeteries. Maklev reports, “We got involved when Rabbi Yitzhak Schapira turned to us. He works with much devotion and donates time and money. There is a real danger in the old cemeteries in Europe when they are left unpro- tected. The issue has worsened over the years. Jewish cemeteries remain unguarded and in constant danger, as Jewish community members now live far from its cemeteries. In addition, anti- Semitism and vandalism exist. It is a right and duty to act for this important cause. We must not stand idly by!” Svetlova first became aware of the issue of Jewish cemeteries on a trip abroad. Svetlova, who immi- grated from Russia in 1991, and served as a journalist and Arab- affairs analyst for Channel 9, was in Libya in 2005 in the remote town of Zlitan when she discov- ered “the horrible picture of devas- tation — broken or absent grave- stones” at Jewish cemeteries. “It made me very sad. All we have is a grave. We cannot allow us to forget our past. A person who forgets his past has no future.” Svetlova is also a member of the Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Committee, where she initiated the Knesset Caucus for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries Abroad. She says she is proud that the caucus includes people “from all sides of the aisle.” B eilin says “people are very worried that cemeteries are vanishing. If we don’t save them now, they won’t be there.” He has seen a shift from the ini- tial work of providing fencing to cemeteries, to “finding those in immediate danger and giving pri- ority to them, even if they are not in the most convenient places.” He estimates that “we have already lost between 4,000 and 10,000 cemeteries.” Schapira adds that “the Jewish world needs to know how many Jewish cemeteries are disappearing and are at risk of disappearing due to vandalism, and geological and other reasons.” Beilin and Schapira shared many stories of cemeteries discov- ered by accident, including a non- Jewish girl riding her bike in a for- est and taking a photo of what she thought was a tombstone. Or of local people providing unexpected assistance to the work of ESJF. “People must have seen us work- ing on a cemetery. One week later, we arrived and saw tombstones there which one week earlier had been missing. They must have thought that, if this was so impor- tant, we will give back what was stolen,” reports Schapira. The group’s CEO Philip Carmel praises such work. “Rabbi Schapira has succeeded in chang- ing the way we address the issue of Jewish cemetery protection. … He has brought the issue to the level of national governments and pan- European institutions, so that [it] is dealt with not just as an issue of Jewish heritage, but one of Europe’s common heritage. He has achieved this by absolute strength of conviction and by deep personal commitment.” Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich also admires Schapira’s efforts and feels that he is “follow- ing the spirit of his father in under- standing what it means to fight for Klal Yisrael.” He is impressed with his drive and ability to bring diverse groups of Jews together. “It is about bringing Jews together for kavod hamet, ‘honoring the dead.’ It is important to build a future.” Even the Queen of England has recognized Schapira for his life- time of service. In 2013, she bestowed on him the title “OBE,” Order of the British Empire, for, as Schapira humbly reports, “building bridges of friendship between the British government and the Orthodox communities in England and Israel.” In our two in-person meetings in New York City, Schapira prefers to direct praise to members of his team, especially Carmel, for “his commitment to the project and his unusual capabilities to achieve so much and so efficient- ly.” Beilin agrees, saying the CEO is “there on the ground. He is a very important player. He knows the material of cemeteries. He is so dedicated to the work.” “F or almost 73 years,” reports Carmel, “the Jewish world has not been able to deal with the protection of these sites for a number of reasons. Firstly, that the priority after the A Rock On A Headstone ESJF protecting Jewish burial sites in Central and Eastern Europe Jewish cemeteries remain unguarded and in constant danger, as Jewish community members now live far from its cemeteries. In addition, anti-Semitism and vandalism exist. continued on page 28 10 JEWISH WORLD • SEPTEMBER 14-20, 2018 REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK The restored and preserved Jewish cemetery in Frampol, Poland. Rabbi Isaac Schapira, founder of the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, sitting with a portrait of his late father, Rabbi Avraham Schapira. Credit: Howard Blas. Credit: Courtesy of ESJF.