For the first time in Israel a crematorium, which is strictly
prohibited by halochoh, has been installed.
The crematorium, set up by a company called Alei Shalechet
(Leaves of Fall), was used to burn the body of a non-Jew last
week, but many fear secular Jews as well will ask to have
their bodies burned.
This serious breach is liable to undermine the belief in the
eternity of the soul and the concept of kovod hameis,
which have been firmly entrenched in the Jewish people since
time immemorial and manifested in instances of great
mesirus nefesh to recover and transport Jewish corpses
under extreme conditions in order to provide a proper burial.
One reporter wrote, "Despite the explanations I could not
avoid the unpleasant associations [from the Holocaust period]
at the sight of the flame blazing inside the furnace. It was
not easy to watch the process."
Numerous efforts have been made by various public
representatives and organizations to appeal to figures in a
position to intervene and put an immediate halt to the
development.
According to ZAKA, Alei Shalechet is hiding the location of
the crematorium, apparently because it does not have
government permission or a business license.
