The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel is the oldest

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It was purchased for use as a burying ground by the Jewish community of Amsterdam in 1614 and is located in the village of

Ouderkerk aan de Amstel Ouderkerk aan de Amstel () is a town in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is largely a part of the municipality of Ouder-Amstel; it lies about 9 km south of Amsterdam. A small part of the town lies in the municipality of Amstelvee ...

, in the countryside near Amsterdam. In addition to its age, the graveyard is interesting because the tombstones have inscriptions in three languages, Portuguese, Dutch and Hebrew, and because, unusually for a Jewish cemetery, many of the tombstones are carved with elaborate scenes including human figures. There are two paintings by

Jacob van Ruisdael Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (; 1629 – 10 March 1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural achi ...

that were inspired by Beth Haim. Although the paintings are usually called in English "The Jewish Cemetery at Ouderkerk", the artist felt free to add picturesque elements, and they therefore do not closely resemble the actual location.

People

Famous people buried at the Beth Haim include: *

Samuel Pallache Samuel Pallache (Arabic: صامويل آل بالاتش, ''Shmuel Baylash'', Hebrew: 'שמואל פאלאץ, ''Shmuel Palach'', c. 1550 – February 4, 1616) was a Jewish Moroccan-born merchant, diplomat, and pirate of the Pallache family, who, a ...

(ca. 1550–1616), Moroccan diplomat *

Joseph Pallache Joseph Pallache ( – 1637/1638/1639/1648/1649/1657), was a Jewish- Moroccan-born merchant and diplomat of the Pallache family, who, as envoy, helped his brother conclude a treaty with the Dutch Republic in 1608. Background Pallache was born in Fe ...

(c. 1580 – 1638/1648/1657) merchant and diplomat * numerous

Pallache family "Pallache" – also de Palacio(s), Palache, Palaçi, Palachi, Palacci, Palaggi, and many other variations (documented below) – is the surname of a prominent, Ladino-speaking, Sephardic Jewish family from the Iberian Peninsula, who spread mostl ...

(later as "Palache") descendants of brothers Samuel and Joseph Pallache *

Menasseh Ben Israel Manoel Dias Soeiro (1604 – 20 November 1657), better known by his Hebrew name Menasseh ben Israel (), also known as Menasheh ben Yossef ben Yisrael, also known with the Hebrew acronym, MB"Y or MBI, was a Portuguese rabbi, kabbalist, writ ...

(1604–1657), rabbi and friend of

Rembrandt van Rijn Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

* Joseph Pardo (ca. 1561–1619), Italian rabbi * David Pardo (ca. 1591–1657), Dutch rabbi and son of Joseph Pardo *

Eliahu Montalto Elijah Montalto (1567 – 1616) was a Marrano physician and polemicist from Paris, who became the personal physician of Maria de Medici. He had been reared as a Christian in Portugal and openly returned to Judaism on settling in Venice. His ''Su ...

(1604–1657), personal physician to

Maria de Medici Marie de' Medici (french: link=no, Marie de Médicis, it, link=no, Maria de' Medici; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, and Regent of the Kingd ...

* Joseph Pardo (ca. 1624–1677), English hazzan *

Baruch Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

's parents (16th–17th centuries) *

Maup Caransa Maurits "Maup" Caransa (5 January 1916 – 6 August 2009) was a Dutch businessman who became one of the most important real-estate developers in post-World War II Amsterdam. Caransa was the first well-known Dutch person to be kidnapped for ransom ...

(1916-2009), real estate developer The cemetery is open to visitors and is free of charge.

References

External links

Beth Haim Portuguese-Jewish Cemetery, The Netherlands
(official website)
Burial lookup
for the Gemeente Amsterdam Portuguese Israelite Congregation burials database {{Coord, 52, 17, 43, N, 4, 54, 15, E, display=title Jewish cemeteries in the Netherlands Cemeteries in the Netherlands Cemeteries in North Holland Ouder-Amstel Sephardi Jewish culture in the Netherlands