Jerusalem OKs first non-Orthodox cemetery

JERUSALEM — Non-Orthodox groups are praising the Jerusalem municipality’s decision to approve the establishment of the city’s first non-Orthodox cemetery.

All Jewish cemeteries in Jerusalem are maintained by ultra-Orthodox burial societies that conduct burials according to the strictest standards of Jewish law. Citizens seeking another type of burial must find a cemetery outside the city.

Jerusalem’s Orthodox cemeteries do not permit burial in a coffin and prohibit the burial of non-Jews — including immediate relatives of a Jew buried in the cemetery. Nor do they permit women to say Kaddish, the memorial prayer, out loud. Reform and Conservative Jews are not allowed to conduct burials according to their respective religious practices.

The municipality’s decision comes a decade after the Israeli High Court ordered the government to provide pluralistic options. Since then, non-Orthodox Jews have tried, unsuccessfully, to force the city’s ultra-Orthodox mayor and other religious officials to allot land for this purpose. Non-Orthodox cemeteries are already operating in several other Israeli cities.

Mayor Uri Lupolianski appeared to welcome the decision, saying, "Jerusalem is a pluralistic city that has a duty to allow people to choose their way of life and their burial." But Rabbi Andy Sacks, director of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel, said he was perturbed by Lupolianski’s statement. "It’s incredible that he’s being praised for what the court demanded of him," Sacks said. "It’s not like he came around and understood the needs of the non-Orthodox community."

Sacks predicted that the proposed cemetery will appeal to families from all branches, including some in the modern-Orthodox community.

"A lot of people want to be buried within Jewish law and tradition, but not necessarily according to the customs and style of the Orthodox movement," Sacks said.