The Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery[1], located in Jerusalem, is the largest and the oldest historic Jewish cemetery in the world. It is also considered to be the most holy Jewish cemetery in the world. Having been in continuous use for more than 3,000 years, the Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery contains approximately [2]150,000 burials.
The Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery is also known as "The City of the Dead"[3], in contrast to the nearby city of Jerusalem, which has been dubbed "The City of Life". The close proximity to Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem[4] is one of the reasons that the Mount of Olives was chosen as a burial site.
Another reason the site was chosen as a burial ground has to do with the composition of the land which is mainly made up of limestone soil[5]. Limestone is too soft to serve as a suitable foundation for building structures so the land was largely uninhabited, leaving space for the cemetery. Limestone is ideal for gravesites since it is easy to dig in the soft soil.
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History of the Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery
The reign of King David
Jewish burials on the Mount of Olives began during the reign of King David (circa 1,000 BCE). Then during the First and Second Temple Periods, burials were made in caves scattered across the slopes of the Mount of Olives. By the 16th century, the cemetery began to take its present form.
In the 1800s, Jews attached a special significance to Jewish cemeteries in Jerusalem since they were often the last place Jewish families gathered before the diapora. Consequently, many Jews came to Jerusalem in their old age to live out the rest of their lives there and to be buried in the soil they considered to be most holy.
Jordanian rule
Between 1949 and 1967, during the Jordanian rule, the Mount of Olives Jewish cemetery suffered damage to approximately 38,000 graves[4]. Israel claimed the Jordanian army used tombstones to create floors for their tents and latrines in a military camp at nearby al-Eizariya and that some tombstones were smashed into fragments and used as markers for the parade ground and courtyard at the Tower of David[7].
Israel also claimed that numerous graves were destroyed when new roads were built – one to the Hotel Inter-Continental Jerusalem on top of the Mount of Olives, one extending the road to Jericho, and one expanding the road to the village of Silwan.
In 1954, the Israeli government filed a formal complaint with the UN General Assembly[8] regarding the destruction of graves.
Israeli rule
In 1992, following the burial of Prime Minister Menachem Begin[9] at the Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery, a dedicated security company was employed at the cemetery to protect visitors. By 2005, in response to acts of harassment, a guard unit was created to escort those who came to visit the cemetery. In 2009, visitors were attacked in their cars and many were injured on their way to the cemetery.
Many burial plots and tombs at the Mount of Olives Cemetery remain in a state of decay resulting from vandalism and the destruction of graves[10]. In spite of government decisions to restore parts of the cemetery, and funds being allocated for maintenance and renovation, the situation remains dire.
Documentation of Israel's cemeteries
One way that the gravestones at the Mount of Olives Cemetery - and in cemeteries around the world - can be preserved is by taking photos to digitize the records.
In 2019, MyHeritage announced[11] that all of Israel's cemeteries, including the Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery, had been documented with an app created by BillionGraves[12], MyHeritage's strategic partner.
With this announcement[13], Israel became the first country in the world to document nearly all of its gravestones. This incredible achievement was the culmination of five years of persistence and hard work.
Every time a gravestone photo is taken with the BillionGraves app[12], it is automaticlally tagged with GPS coordinates. Then the data is transcribed and posted online, making the records searchable. Gravestone images from this project can be found on MyHeritage.com[11].
Explore more about Jewish cemeteries and Jewish genealogy
- Death, Burial, Cemetery & Obituaries at MyHeritage Collection Catalog
- Understanding Jewish Gravestones at BillionGraves Blog
- MyHeritage, BillionGraves, and Museum of Jewish Heritage (MJH), Forge Partnership to Provide Greater Access to Jewish Burial Records at MJH
- Researching Your Jewish Ancestors at Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- JewishGen, The Home for Jewish Genealogy, Museum of Jewish Heritage
References
- ↑ Israeli Grave Records, MyHeritage, David Lukowiecki
- ↑ Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery, BeinHarim
- ↑ City of David, Ancient Jerusalem
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tourist Israel, The Guide
- ↑ Science Direct, Limestone Soils
- ↑ Midrash (“Midrash | Judaism”)
- ↑ Tower of David Jerusalem Museum
- ↑ General Assembly of the United Nations
- ↑ Menachem Begin Jewish Virtual Library
- ↑ Jewish Graves Destruction Mount of Olives Cemetery, Jewish World Congress
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 MyHeritage Blog
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 BillionGraves Volunteer
- ↑ All of Israel's Cemeteries Digitized, BillionGraves Blog, Cathy Wallace