Major New Security Improvements on Har Hazeisim, Including Fencing in Major Area

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har-hazeisimA new fence was recently completed at the Colel Polen section of Har Hazeisim providing new security for an area that has been subjected to a great deal of abuse in the past, according to the International Committee for the Preservation of Har Hazeisim, headed by Avrohom Lubinsky. The section is the burial site for many prominent holocaust survivor families, most recently the late Rav Avrohom Noach Klein z”l, a prominent Gerer chasid and philanthropist whose untimely passing left the community in mourning.

With the establishment of a police station on Har Hazeisim along with 132 surveillance cameras, desecration of graves has virtually ceased, but the area was still prone to occasional rock throwing and garbage being strewn. The fence will hopefully further improve the security in the area.

In addition to the fencing, said Mr. Lubinsky, the committee has succeeded in gaining approval for new signage on the mountain and the access roads leading to Har Hazeisim. He explained that there would be increased signage directing visitors to Har Hazeisim. In addition, emergency numbers will be posted throughout Har Hazeisim for any visitor that appears to be in harm’s way. Finally, there will be new signs pointing out the burial section and gravesites of some of the most prominent Jews buried on the 3,000 year-old cemetery.

The major current focus of the Committee which includes Jews from all walks of life and representatives of major organizations is to end the “recreational” rock throwing in the Har Hazeisim area, most often by school children. Lubinsky said that the municipality, headed by Mayor Nir Barkat, were taking steps to put an end to the rock throwing by school aged children who attend schools on the fringe of Har Hazeisim, throw rocks and trample on graves on their way to and from school. Although he would not elaborate on the steps that are being taken with the schools for security reasons, Lubinsky said that the Committee would continue to bring pressure on the government to end the rock throwing in the Ras al Amud square and on the road leading from Har Hatzofim (Mt. of Scopus) to Har Hazeisim.

The ICPHH was urging Israeli officials to extend the cordon of security cameras to the access roads as well as to deploy uniformed officers on the approach roads “so that every Jew who wishes to visit the holy historic cemetery is safe.”Mr. Lubinsky said that there was broad consensus amongst all Jews that there should be zero tolerance when it comes to security for Har Hazeisim. He said that the Committee will continue its efforts to promote legislation that would impose stiff penalties for violence perpetrated on or near a cemetery and include severe punishment for the minors and their families.

{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}


7 COMMENTS

  1. They can afford security for illegal settlements, and just now they decided they can add some security on Har Hazeisim? My friends who have family buried there have to run a gauntlet every time they visit, while they hope no one has vandalized their loved ones’ graves. There should be round the clock guards.

  2. That is so great it would be nice for there to be a map of the graves so people would know who is buried where . So may people would be surprised and would visit more graves of the great holly people and more visitors will go to Har Hazeisim .my father Rabbi Aryeah Kaplan is buried there .

  3. The police station is not a joke. At the moment, 13 police officers are assigned to the sub-station. Some are in plainclothes patrolling the cemetery. They are also in close touch with the monitoring station for the 132 surveillance cameras. The bottom line is that there hasn’t been any vandalism of graves in bearly 5 months. We are now focused on the occasional rock throwing. The police station has made nearly 80 arrests of loitering and rock-throwing. Menachem Lubinsky on behalf of the International Committee for the Preservation of Har Hazeisim.

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