The second item of last week's column reported on the U.S. Senate passing of the Protect Cemeteries Act, that was introduced and passed by Congresswoman Grace Meng in the House of Representatives. The law, that will Classify the desecration of cemeteries as a Religious Freedom Violation, will be a vital tool to assist in the effort to protect cemeteries internationally.
The law follows years of work by Dr. Bernard Fryshman, Chairman of the Conference of Academicians for the Protection of Jewish Cemeteries, who advocated for such a measure, pointing out that desecration cemeteries is indeed a gross violation of the religious freedoms of those interred in the cemeteries and the Jewish people. Rabbi Pinchos Hecht, Administrator of the Mir Yeshiva, and his brother Rabbi Avrohom Hecht, Executive Director of the Canarsie Jewish Community Council, and other community leaders, were very active in calling for such legislation.
Congresswoman Meng, a tireless advocate for Jewish interests, took up the issue, and now succeeded to get it passed in the House and the Senate (the Senate passed the House Resolution, instead of an own version of the bill) and it's heading to the President for his signature. The law will include the desecration of cemeteries among a list of religious issues that the Department of State monitors and report on in their annual Religious Freedom reports.
In statements to announce the bill, Rep. Meng specifically mentioned the importance of such a law to preserve Jewish cemeteries in Eastern Europe from where the Jewish communities were uprooted during the holocaust, leaving the cemeteries without caretakers and protection. She also said that the amendment will strengthen the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, created by a law passed by the late Congressman Steve Solarz. Solarz represented the Williamsburg Jewish community, and passed this law on the urging of the late Rabbi Zvi Kastenbaum, who served on the commission for many years. During a reception earlier in the year in Williamsburg by the UJO for Lesley Weiss, the Commission Chair, and Commissioner Herbert Bloch - participated by the leaders of the main congregations in Williamsburg, Asra Kadisha and others - Rabbi Pinchs Hecht discussed the effort to pass the amendment and its importance.
"We express our heart-felt thanks to our dedicated co-worker Dr. Bernard Fryshman, for his long-lasting effort to get governments to recognized the importance of the preservation of cemeteries. I also want to express my hearty appreciation to Rabbi Hecht and all dedicated activists who helped bring upon this law, that will hopefully assist in the ongoing efforts for the preservation of cemeteries worldwide," said Rabbi Lazar Stern, Chairman of Asra Kadisha (the world-renown organization that is active for half a century to protect Jewish cemeteries worldwide, and their efforts were mentioned in Department of State's Religious Freedom reports in the past here).
"I thank the Congresswoman for introducing and pass the important piece of legislation. We thank Senator Cardin for sponsoring the law in Senate. We thank Congressman Jeffries of Williamsburg for co-sponsoring the law, and we look forward for the signage of the law by the President," said Rabbi David Niederman.
"Congresswoman Meng's law will - with Go-d's help - tremendously assist to convince governments to provide the required protection to cemeteries from developers and other interests, and will strengthen the hands of activists and the Heritage Commission's power to save cemeteries," Rabbi Niederman concluded.
