Maintenance work at a historic Jewish cemetery in Poland went badly wrong earlier this month when a digger reportedly smashed through gravestones and scattered bones across the site.
Workers had been hired by the cemetery’s owners and local Jewish community leaders to repair a collapsed wall at the site in the town of Brzesko, about 57km from Kraków.
An excavator reportedly entered through the gates of the cemetery before smashing through gravestones and, while operating near the damaged wall, dug out bones and scattered them across the ground.
Many prominent rabbis are buried at the cemetery, including Rabbi Aryeh Leib Lipschitz; his son Rabbi Meshulam Zalman Yonatan; Rabbi Pinchas Templerl; Rabbi Pinchas Templer; Rabbi Menashe and Rabbi Tuvia.
Poland's Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich told the Jerusalem Post: “They made several mistakes. First, they went ahead without halachic supervision. And second, they used an excavator.”
Renovations at Jewish cemeteries are supposed to be carried out under the supervision of the Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe (CPJCE).
Chairman of European Jewish heritage group J-nerations, Meir Bulka, told YNet: “This is not the first time we have seen [this] Jewish community act contrary to halachic practice.
“Unfortunately, for years, outside interests have shaped the conduct of this community and no one has spoken out.
“The Jewish people must raise their voices by every possible means to prevent them from operating without halachic supervision and through practices that amount to taking money from Jews whose only wish is to visit the graves of their ancestors and pray at the graves of righteous figures.”
The community responsible has reportedly apologised for the incident.
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