A newly set up committee comprised of Grodno City Council
members and representatives of Jewish organizations in
Byelorussia and other countries is working to implement an
agreement reached just days ago to halt grave desecration at
a 500-year-old cemetery located in the city. Following
concerted efforts by Byelorussia Chief Rabbi Sender Oritzky,
who also serves as rosh yeshivas Minsk, city authorities
agreed to discontinue plans to build a stadium and sports
center on the site. Nonetheless, excavation work continued
late last week.
"Byelorussia is the type of country where it takes time for
every decision to trickle down from the decision-making level
to the place where the decision has to be carried out in
practice," Rav Sender told Yated Ne'eman. "Every
decision made is implemented very slowly, and I assume that
in this case as well . . . it could take another few days
during which, unfortunately, the grave desecration will
continue."
The construction plan and excavations began almost 50 years
ago under communist rule, but the project was shelved until
recently. When bulldozers began to raze the ground last
month, uncovering skeletal remains, Rav Oritzky took
immediate action. Discovering Byelorussian law permits
municipalities to level cemeteries where no burials have
taken place for at least 50 years, Rav Oritzky went to
Minister of Religions Stanislav Boko, explaining to him how
deeply disturbing the abominable grave desecration was to
Jews around the world.
Moved by Rav Oritzky's entreaties Minister Boko immediately
placed a call to Grodno Mayor Alexander Antaneniko asking him
to arrange a meeting with Rav Oritzky and other
representatives as soon as possible, stressing the strong
opposition among Byelorussia's 70,000 Jews and agitation
among Jewish communities elsewhere and urging him to forge an
immediate dialogue between the two sides.
At a meeting the next day attended by Mayor Antaneniko,
District Governor Meltz and Minister Boko--who traveled the
150 miles from Minsk especially to attend the meeting--Rav
Oritzky impressed upon the public officials Grodno's
important role in Jewish history as a major center for Torah
and Judaism, and as the home of the renowned Grodno Yeshiva
until its destruction during the Holocaust, adding that today
there is even a yeshiva in Israel named after the hallowed
Grodno Yeshiva.
Following the meeting Rav Oritzky led a group of his
talmidim who had traveled with him from Minsk to
Grodno to gather the bones scattered on the cemetery grounds
and to take the crates where other bones had been laid to one
of Grodno's other two Jewish cemeteries where HaRav Shimon
Shkop zt'l lies buried.
According to Rav Oritzky, Byelorussia's aging Jewish
population, most of whom lived through the horrors of World
War II, are unable to take part in the struggle actively, but
many trembled at the thought past events could repeat
themselves. "I felt I was carrying out a great mission in the
name of these Jews, who are waiting tensely to see whether
once again they will be forced to experience the scenes of
devastation and destruction of Jewish cemeteries," he said
following the agreement reached with city officials. "I also
knew I was acting in the name of all chareidi Jews around the
world and I am glad that through great mesirus nefesh
we were able to persuade the involved parties to cease the
grave desecration in Grodno and to set up a committee that
will oversee what takes place in the field. Unfortunately for
them a stadium and sports center is very important, much more
than the bones of Jews from decades and centuries ago. But we
will continue to oversee and be'ezras Hashem Yisborach
I hope we will be able to prevent further grave desecration
in Grodno."
When the large-scale excavation work was not halted as
anticipated, Rav Oritzky tried to accelerate the
implementation. "The Deputy Foreign Minister of Byelorussia
visited Grodno to tend to the matter and I made contact with
the Byelorussian Ministry of Religions several times," he
said. "I am optimistic what we agreed upon will be executed.
They promised me this and I want to believe they will keep
their promise."
