HaRav Avrohom Kammer, Rov of the Central Court Shul in Lakewood, voiced strong outrage this week during a visit to Lithuania after witnessing the condition of several historic Jewish cemeteries that have fallen into neglect and, in some cases, have been desecrated.
HaRav Kammer was traveling with a group of mispallelim on a heritage trip to visit the kevarim of Gedolei Yisroel and other historic Jewish sites throughout Lithuania.
During the visit, members of the group were deeply pained by the sight of overgrown, abandoned, and desecrated cemeteries that serve as the final resting places of generations of Yidden.
HaRav Kammer stressed the importance of preserving these sacred sites and honoring the memory of the countless Yidden buried there, expressing hope that greater efforts will be made to restore and protect the cemeteries for future generations.
Rabbi Kammer speaks from the heart, but what idoes he and his group of activists actually plan to do except shout? He says the Lithuanians have built a building on the site of 60,000 kevorim. Any large building needs foundations the pouring of which quite probably involved excavating the cemeter, so buying the building and knocking it down will not axheiwve anything. Again Rabbi Kammer what are you proposing to actually do?
The explanation to the video only has partial information, and is somewhat lacking the context. Rabbi Kammer is referring particularly to where he was standing – the holy Shnipishok cemetery in Vilna where the government is considering developing a Conference Center. This protest was meant to stop that desecration and force the government to deal with Klal Yisroel’s activists to prepare and restore the cemetery.
The building is only on a quarter of the cemetery so even with your rational there are plenty of meiei mitzvah laying underground. In addition halachically, the ground is considered hallow ground even if the corpses were removed. Gedolei haposkim and Gedolei torah have paskened on this and it’s all available through Jewish Heritage in Lita led by Rabbi Elchonon Baron who is totally involved on a daily basis representing klal yisroel.After much ” shouting” and lobbying the city erected a fence around the cemetery which is a major statement that this not what they like to refer to as a”former” cemetery but an eternal one. I suggest that you listen to the speeches of the gedolim when they made their protest with Dirshu several years ago and specifically Rav Noigershal who delivered a powerful address on the matter.Kol tuv,EMC
reb elchonon is a tzadik devoting his life and running a one man crusade to save cemeteries in LITA. bringing these buriel places to the publics attention and arousing the public outcry needed to stop the desecration he needs our support