jewish cemeteries, synagogues, and mass grave sites in ukraine

environment be natural. This tradition expresses the futility of opposing the changes of nature.
However, it has been traditional for Jewish communities to carry out routine cleaning and
clearing of vegetation at cemeteries, and to undertake remedial work when cemeteries have
suffered from destruction and subsequent neglect.
Removal of vegetation often requires approval from both secular and religious authorities. Many
Jewish cemeteries in Ukraine are now classified as woodland, and removal of trees that have
grown up on the site in the past half-century, such as the nearly 2,000 saplings and pine trees on
the cemetery in Brody, require permission from forestry officials.
Likewise, if removal of vegetation involves any excavation (as opposed to cutting), even trees
that are threatening graves with their root structure, rabbinic approval or, even, religious
supervision may be required to ensure that graves are not disturbed.
The presence of large trees often provides aesthetic relief. However, it is sometimes necessary,
as at Zhytomyr, to cut trees down because they are damaging graves or because the danger of
their collapse is deemed a safety hazard.
The Talmud is specific in stating that animals should not be pastured nor grass collected in a
cemetery. Yet, if any one collected grass, it had to be burnt immediately out of respect due to the
dead (Sanhedrin 46a.).
In cemeteries that have long been abandoned, however, it is commonly accepted that clearing of
vegetation is required in order to reveal and protect the graves and stones. Likewise, for the
maintenance of a cemetery, it is commonly arranged that a local farmer may clear hay.
Although, in many instances, local peasants or collectives allow animals to graze on Jewish
cemeteries, and this grazing controls the vegetation, Jews generally prefer to erect fences to
protect sites from animals as well as from humans.
In Podillia (the region of southwest Ukraine formerly part of southeastern Poland), many historic
cemeteries still maintain some of their original decorated tombstones. In Buchach (Ternopilska
oblast), some tombstones date back to the 16 th century, and several from the 17 th and 18 th
centuries are noteworthy for their marvelous portal shape construction and interesting texts. The
inscriptions at Buchach are particularly informative from an historical point of view; the
genealogical information reveals much about the migration of the Jews in this area.
The known cemetery sites can be classified into the following categories:
‣ Cemeteries where the general location is known, but which are not in any way marked,
and which have been developed for some other use. Typical examples include the old cemetery
at Brody (Lvivska oblast) that is used as a football field, and cemeteries at Drohobych and Stryj
(Lvivska oblast), where apartment buildings are built.
‣ Cemeteries where the boundaries are known, but an inappropriate activity takes place.
This is the case with the old cemeteries in Zhovkva and Lviv (Lvivska oblast), where markets
take place within the cemetery walls. In Zhovkva, there are a few permanent structures on the
site. In Lviv, a bustling marketplace with many new buildings occupies the cemetery and
considerable area beyond (figures 14-17).
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