In Kovel, Volyn region, hundreds of matzevot have been moved to a new storage site. The tombstones were rescued by the Jewish community of Lutsk around 15 years ago and come from one of Kovel’s Jewish cemeteries that was destroyed in the 20th century.
In recent years, the matzevot had been stored on the premises of a local business. The property recently changed ownership, and the new administration was unable to continue storing the tombstones there, as the site was needed for production purposes. This led to the need to move the matzevot to a safer location.
With the support of the Kovel city authorities, and particularly city council member Andrew Myroniuk, a site was allocated for the storage of the matzevot on the premises of the municipal enterprise. ESJF and the Volyn Jewish community, headed by Serhii Shvardovskyi, helped organize the relocation. The pallets needed to transport and store the matzevot were provided by Illia Miretskyi.
The relocation was also made possible with the support of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine, which helped draw attention to the issue and bring partners together to find a solution.