Jewish Heritage Europe

Jewish cemeteries: ESJF gets new €1 million grant for mapping in 7 countries; recent desecration in Slovakia is latest in spate of vandalisms, raising concerns and questions

Days after a vandal attack that toppled dozens of headstones in the Jewish cemetery in Namestovo, Slovakia, the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative (ESJF) announced that the European Commission has awarded  €1 million to a consortium it leads to continue the … continue reading →

Council of Europe issues far-reaching report, resolution, recommendations on Jewish heritage preservation

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has adopted a far-reaching Resolution and set of Recommendations  that recognize the importance of Jewish heritage and call for local, national, and international efforts to preserve and protect Jewish heritage sites around … continue reading →

Ukraine: Fire Guts former Great Synagogue in Illintsi. Had long been used as a carpentry workshop (UPDATE: Much of structure appears to have survived)

The former Great Synagogue in Illintsi, in southwest Ukraine, was gutted by fire this past week, according to local media and video. UPDATE: a picture posted on Facebook after the fire was extinguished showed the at least parts of the … continue reading →

Poland: conference to tackle issues related to the preservation, protection, and documentation of Jewish cemeteries in Poland

A conference in Poland next week will tackle a range of issues relating to Jewish cemetery preservation, documentation, and legal status. The two-day meeting, organized by the Gliwice Museum, will be held at the Memorial House of Upper Silesian Jews, … continue reading →

JHE PHOTO ESSAY: American notes — Epitaphs on historic Jewish gravestones in the USA trace stories of (sometimes dramatic) immigration from Europe

In the United States, the European heritage of most American Jews is evident in the Jewish built heritage, particularly in older Jewish cemeteries and synagogues. The historic Ohabei Shalom Jewish cemetery in East Boston, founded in 1844, is the first … continue reading →