European Rabbis Praise Polish Chief Rabbi Over Cemetery Protection

London - 11-Feb-08

Grodzisk Mazowiecki Jewish Cemetery, Poland. © A. Szwarc.

Unwarranted attacks by foreign organisations condemned

The Conference of European Rabbis (CER) strongly supports the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich, in his work preserving and renovating the Jewish cemetery in Slubice, western Poland. Rabbi Schudrich's work over many years has guaranteed that previously abandoned sites throughout Poland which were subject to neglect and deprivation have now been preserved.

Working together with his colleagues in the CER and acting always on the advice of the most senior halachic authorities in Europe, the United States and Israel, Rabbi Schudrich has and continues to protect vital objects of Jewish heritage in Eastern Europe while conforming strictly to the Halachah.

The CER strongly condemns attempts by unrepresentative and extremist groups in the United States and Israel who have sought to perform the exhumation of Jewish graves in Slubice and who have been at the forefront of unfounded and false attacks on Rabbi Schudrich. The CER urges the Polish authorities to work together with representative Polish Jewish organisations under the leadership of Rabbi Schudrich thereby preserving and protecting both Polish and Jewish heritage in Poland.