ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative is proud to announce the completion of its 400th Jewish cemetery protection project – a major milestone achieved after more than 11 years of work.
This achievement would not have been possible without the commitment of our team, the support of our friends, partner organisations, private donors, and our principal partner, the German Federal Foreign Office. Above all, however, it would not have been possible without the vision that has guided ESJF from the very beginning — a vision shaped by Rabbi Yitzchak Schapira, Founder and President of ESJF, and Dr. Yossi Beilin, former Justice Minister of Israel and Chairman of the ESJF Advisory Board.
ESJF’s first cemetery protection project was completed on 26 June 2015, when a protective fence was installed around the Jewish cemetery in Dymer, Ukraine. On 1 July 2026, we reached our 400th milestone with the completion of a fencing project at the Jewish cemetery in the village of Rohod, Hungary.
Since 2015, ESJF has completed Jewish cemetery protection projects across 12 European countries. Overall, through its surveying and educational activities, ESJF has expanded its work to 17 countries: Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Croatia, Serbia, and Greece.
Right now, ESJF survey teams are documenting Jewish burial sites in Kosovo and Latvia — countries where, when we first began our work, we could hardly have imagined operating. These surveys represent the first step towards future cemetery protection projects and will enable ESJF to begin the physical protection of Jewish cemeteries in both countries in the near future.
Today, we are honoured to serve as the largest organization in the world dedicated to the protection and preservation of Jewish cemeteries.
“There is still so much more work to do — not only in protecting cemeteries through fencing, but also in documenting these sites and expanding the public awareness and educational programmes we continue to run across the region,” said ESJF CEO Philip Carmel.
Since its establishment, ESJF has developed strong partnerships with Jewish communities, municipal authorities, local activists, Jewish heritage organisations, and educational institutions throughout Europe. We work closely with our partners at every stage of our mission, from coordinating survey expeditions and fencing projects to organising cemetery rededication ceremonies, educational programmes, and the ongoing maintenance of burial sites. Together, we also address legal challenges related to cemetery ownership and preservation.
Our goal is to work alongside organisations already active in Central and Eastern Europe, both Jewish and non-Jewish, building on existing networks and expertise while sharing best practices in Jewish heritage preservation. By collaborating with national and regional Jewish communities whenever possible, we seek to educate, inspire, and empower future generations to protect and preserve their local Jewish heritage.
We are deeply grateful to all of our partners for their invaluable support and contribution to preserving Europe’s Jewish cemeteries.
The history of Jewish communities across Central and Eastern Europe is rich and varied, stretching back millennia. In a few short years, the Holocaust brought the long history of thousands of these communities to a cruel, abrupt end. Without their owners to safeguard and preserve them, many of these Jewish cemeteries have fallen into disrepair, and after 80 years of vandalism and neglect, many are at risk of disappearing entirely, bringing the last physical testament to these ancient communities with them.
ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative is a German-based non-profit established in 2015 by Rabbi Isaac Schapira with the core objective of protecting and preserving Jewish cemeteries across Europe through the accurate delineation of cemetery boundaries and the construction of walls and locking gates.