Jewish community in Freiburg sees eternal rest at risk
Published: Tuesday, Sep 24th 2024, 11:50
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The new fee regulations for the municipal cemetery in Freiburg are causing a lack of understanding among the Jewish community. De facto, the city is abolishing the perpetual resting place for graves in the Jewish section of the cemetery.
The Communauté Israélite de Fribourg and the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG) see this as a violation of religious freedom, as detailed in a communiqué issued on Tuesday. The General Council, the municipal parliament, approved the revision of the cemetery regulations by a large majority in mid-September.
The organizations criticize that this would revoke the cornerstones of a historic agreement with the local Jewish community from 1912. To this day, special conditions apply to the Jewish part of the cemetery, in particular the perpetual rest of the grave.
In future, the same conditions and fees are to apply to the entire cemetery. There are 157 graves in the Jewish section of the cemetery, some of which have been there for over a hundred years.
Accordingly, high fees would be due for all these graves, as well as for the new ones in the future, the two organizations write. The burden of fees would exceed the budget of the small Jewish community of around 65 people many times over. The financial survival of the community would no longer be guaranteed.
The eternal rest of the grave is a central element of Jewish culture. Graves must not be dissolved, they should exist forever.
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