Kiryat Shaul Cemetery ( he, בית העלמין קריית שאול) is a 320- dunam (32

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

)

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

burial ground in Northern

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

near the neighborhood of Kiryat Shaul. On the east side of the cemetery is a large military cemetery. Founded in 1943, it includes more than 80,000 graves, including those of Israeli political and cultural figures. Due to lack of space, since 1991, the

Yarkon Cemetery Yarkon Cemetery ( he, בית העלמין ירקון) is the main cemetery for the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area of Israel. It is located within the Petah Tikva city limits, between the Yarkon River in the West, Highway 5 in the North, and the 491 ...

has been serving as the main cemetery for the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area.

History

The Cemetery was established in 1943 when the Chair of the Religious Council of

David-Zvi Pinkas David-Zvi Pinkas ( he, דָּוִד־צְבִי פִּנְקָס, 5 December 1895 – 14 August 1952) was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician. A signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence, he was the country's third Minister of Tra ...

, feared that they will run out of burial space in the

Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery Nahalat Yitzhak Cemetery ( he, בית העלמין נחלת יצחק) is a Jewish municipal burial ground in the Tel Aviv District city of Givatayim, Israel, east of the Nahalat Yitzhak neighborhood of Tel Aviv. Founded in 1932, it includes more ...

. Chairman of the

Chevra kadisha The term ''Chevra kadisha'' (Modern Hebrew: חֶבְרָה קַדִּישָׁא) gained its modern sense of "burial society" in the nineteenth century. It is an organization of Jewish men and women who see to it that the bodies of deceased Je ...

, Zalman Meisel, opened in negotiations to purchase the land. The purchase was completed in 1949. During its early years, the cemetery faced strong opposition, particularly from Planning Division at the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. The opposition slowly subsided the following year. While the sign above the entrance still say "Central Cemetery", due to dwindling burial places,

which opened in 1991 near Petah Tikva now serves as the main cemetery for the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area. While Kiryat Shaul still accepts new burials, it is categorized as a "closed cemetery" by

Bituah Leumi Bituah Leumi ( he, המוסד לביטוח לאומי, ''HaMossad LeVituach Leumi'', the National Insurance Institute of Israel) is Israel's national social security agency. It was established on 1 April 1954. Poverty In January 2021 it publish ...

, allowing the collection of fees. Like most other cemeteries in Israel, Kiryat Shaul cemetery erected memorials in memory of the victims of

The Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. Under some of the monuments are buried the remains, ashes and bones that were brought back from the extermination camps. The memorials include: Jews of

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

, Bukovina,

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, Slonim,

Zamość Zamość (; yi, זאמאשטש, Zamoshtsh; la, Zamoscia) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021. ...

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; german: Auschwitz ; yi, אָשפּיצין, Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland ( pl, Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rive ...

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975� ...

, and Ivano-Frankivsk. Additionally, there is a dedicated plot for the

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sa ...

and another for victims of terrorist acts. Nearby the entrance to the cemetery is the resting place of five of the victims of the

Munich massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September, who infiltrated the Olympic Village, killed two member ...

- fencing master Andre Spitzer, wrestlers Mark Slavin and

Eliezer Halfin Eliezer Halfin (18 June 1948 – 6 September 1972) was a Latvian-born wrestler with the Israeli Olympic team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Along with 10 other athletes and coaches he was taken hostage and later murdered by Pale ...

, and coaches Kehat Shorr and Amitzur Shapira. There is also a grave for the remains of the victims of the El Al Flight 402 plane crash that took place over Bulgaria in 1955 as well as a grave for the pilots of El Al Flight 1862 which crashed in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1992. The cemetery is the resting place of many of prominent military and cultural figures. Among them -

Alexander Penn Alexander Penn ( he, אלכסנדר פן, russian: Александр Пэнн; 1906 – April 1972) was an Israeli poet. Biography Avraham (Alexander) Pepliker-Stern (later Penn) was born in Nizhnekolymsk, Russian Empire. According to one ...

Nathan Alterman Nathan Alterman ( he, נתן אלתרמן, August 14, 1910 – March 28, 1970) was an Israeli poet, playwright, journalist, and translator. Though never holding any elected office, Alterman was highly influential in Socialist Zionist politics ...

, Abraham Chalfi,

Avraham Shlonsky Avraham Shlonsky (March 6, 1900 – May 18, 1973; he, אברהם שלונסקי; russian: Авраам Шлёнский) was a significant and dynamic Israeli poet and editor born in the Russian Empire. He was influential in the development of ...

, Tirza Atar,

Dahlia Ravikovitch Dahlia Ravikovitch ( he, דליה רביקוביץ'; November 17, 1936 – August 21, 2005) was an Israeli poet, translator, and peace activist. Biography Ravikovitch was born in Ramat Gan on November 27, 1936. She learned to read and write at t ...

, Natan Yonatan, Shmulik Chizik,

Moshe Shamir Moshe Shamir ( he, משה שמיר; 15 September 1921 – 20 August 2004) was an Israeli author, playwright, opinion writer, and public figure. He was the author of a play upon which Israeli film '' He Walked Through the Fields'' was based. Biogr ...

Moshe Vilenski Moshe Wilensky ( he, משה וילנסקי, also, "Vilensky"; 17 April 1910 – 2 January 1997) was a Polish-Israeli composer, lyricist, and pianist. He is considered a "pioneer of Israeli song" and one of Israel's leading composers, and was a wi ...

Mordechai Zeira Mordechai Zeira (, July 6, 1905 – August 1, 1968), born in Kiev as Dmitry Greben, was an Israeli composer. Mordechai Zaira (Greben) was one of the most important Israeli composers and songwriters. Wrote melodies for the best poets and songwri ...

, Nahum Nardi, Daniel Samborski, Izhak Graziani,

Hanna Rovina Hanna Rovina ( he, חנה רובינא‎; 15 September 1888 – 3 February 1980), also Robina, was an Israeli actress. She is often referred to as the "First Lady of Hebrew Theatre". Biography Hana Rovina was born in Byerazino, in the Igu ...

Shmuel Rodensky Shmuel Rodensky ( he, שמואל רודנסקי, 10 December 1902 – 16 July 1989) was a Russian-born Israeli actor whose stage, film, and television career in Israel and West Germany spanned six decades. He immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 19 ...

, Yafa Yarkoni, Zev Sufott, Amiram Nir, and many more.

Burial tower

In 1999, additional burial plots were added at the north-west side of the cemetery. On that site a three-story, step-pyramid shaped building was built. Connecting the floors is a staircase and a ramp. The structure is divided into shaded burial halls and shafts where vegetation grows under direct sunlight. The overall design is based on the Tombs of the Sanhedrin. Family estates can be purchased at the tower.

Military Cemetery

On the eastern side of the cemetery is a large Military Cemetery. The cemetery has been the subject of much debate in Israel with a number of controversies that surround it. After

Amos Yarkoni Sgan aluf Amos Yarkoni ( he, עמוס ירקוני) (born 1 June 1920 — died 7 February 1991), was an officer in the Israel Defense Forces and one of six Israeli Arabs to have received the IDF's third highest decoration, the Medal of Distinguis ...

died in 1991, it was proposed that he be buried in the Kiryat Shaul Military Cemetery. However, since Yarkoni is not Jewish, this proved to be a major issue (According to Orthodox Jewish burial law, Jews must be buried among Jews.). There was an outcry over the unseemliness of the impediment to burying a hero of the stature of Amos Yarkoni in a Military Cemetery. The matter was resolved quickly when

Rehavam Zeevi Rehavam Ze'evi ( he, רחבעם זאבי ; 20 June 1926 – 17 October 2001) was an Israeli general and politician who founded the right-wing nationalist Moledet party, mainly advocating population transfer. He was assassinated by Hamdi Quran ...

, Yarkoni's lifelong friend and comrade, purchased a grave in the cemetery for himself, allowing Yarkoni to be buried at the end of the row, and therefore ''technically'' not in the Jewish part of the cemetery. The incident over Yarkoni's burial, and the increasing numbers of non-Jewish soldiers (especially after the influx from the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in the early 1990s) has seen the system of burial for non-Jews in Jewish military cemeteries streamlined.

References

Gallery

{{Gallery , title=Kiryat Shaul Cemetery , align=center , footer= , File:Kshaul 002.jpg, , File:Kshaul041.jpg, , File:AircraftBulgaria8.JPG,

El Al Flight 402 El Al Flight 402 was an international passenger flight from London to Tel Aviv via Vienna and Istanbul. On 27 July 1955, the flight, operated by a Lockheed Constellation registered as 4X-AKC, strayed into then-Communist Bulgarian airspace and was ...

memorial , File:AircraftBulgaria89.JPG, El Al Flight 402 memorial , File:BTower053.jpg, Burial Tower , File:BTower033.jpg, Burial Tower , File:BTower054.jpg, Burial Tower , File:BTower042.jpg, Burial Tower , File:Brisk memorial.JPG,

Holocaust memorial , File:Bucovina memorial.JPG, Bukovina Holocaust memorial , File:Grodno memorial.JPG,

Grodno Ghetto The Grodno Ghetto ( pl, getto w Grodnie, be, Гродзенскае гета, he, גטו גרודנו) was a Nazi ghetto established in November 1941 by Nazi Germany in the city of Grodno for the purpose of persecution and exploitation of J ...

Holocaust memorial , File:Kastoria memorial.JPG,

Kastoria Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria regional unit, in the geographic region of Macedonia. It is situated on a promontory on the weste ...

Holocaust memorial , File:Kraków memorial.JPG,

Holocaust memorial , File:Minsk memorial.JPG,

Holocaust memorial , File:Millii066.jpg, Entrance to the Military Cemetery , File:Israeli MIA memorial.jpg,

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...

MIA Mia, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA., a German rock/pop band formed in 1997 * Mia (singer) (born 1983) ...

memorial , File:Yizkor9.JPG, Military Cemetery , File:KShaul-militatry005.JPG, Military Cemetery , File:Milii067.jpg, Military Cemetery , File:Yizkor2.JPG, alt=, Military Cemetery , File:אנדרטת וילון, אושיקוב, וירושוב, זלוצב, מינצנה, בזזניצה, בולסלביץ, זלושין, לוטוטוב, פרשקה.jpg,

Wieluń Wieluń ( la, Velun) is a town in south-central Poland with 21,624 inhabitants (2021). Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship (since 1999), it was previously in Sieradz Voivodeship (1975–1998). Wieluń has a long and rich history. In the past, ...

and other communities in the area Holocaust memorial Cemeteries in Tel Aviv 1943 establishments in Mandatory Palestine Jewish cemeteries in Israel