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Students and alumni of the local school learned about what a Jewish cemetery is, who is buried there, and why it is important to care for and protect these sites. They also learned how to interpret symbols on matzevot and calculate dates of death written in Hebrew. Students from the Interdisciplinary Certificate Program in Jewish […]

Surveyors visited 15 locations, and preliminary assessments suggest that two sites may be suitable for future fencing projects. The photos show tombstones of unusual design at the Jewish cemetery in Nova Gorica, located just a short distance from the Slovenian-Italian border. According to our historians’ preliminary assessment, the distinctive shape of the tombstone in the […]

Museum professionals, experts in regional history and cultural heritage, educators, students, and anyone interested in Jewish heritage are invited to take part in a seminar dedicated to the preservation of Jewish cemeteries. The seminar will take place on 11-12 November 2026 in Brno, Czech Republic. The seminar will offer participants practical insights into Jewish heritage […]

The village of Orynyn is located in the Kamianets-Podilskyi district of the Khmelnytskyi region, in the historic area of Podillia. Before the Second World War, Jews made up nearly half of the town’s population. After the Wehrmacht occupied Orynyn, more than 1,700 Jews from the town and surrounding villages were murdered in a single day. […]

Although the programme was designed primarily for museum staff and cultural heritage specialists, we were delighted to welcome a much broader audience of participants. The lectures explored a wide range of topics related to Jewish heritage documentation and preservation in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Our speakers included Dr. Serafima Velkovich, Head of the Family Roots […]

Located just steps away from residential homes, the cemetery was remarkably vulnerable. In the photos, one can even see fruit trees growing among the remaining gravestones, their trunks painted with white lime by local residents. Without a protective fence, it is easy to imagine how the cemetery could have gradually been encroached upon or lost […]

Just a few days after completing the documentation of all known Jewish cemeteries in Kosovo, ESJF Senior Surveyor Ian Galevskii began survey work in Slovenia. The survey will cover 17 locations that, according to various historical sources, may be Jewish burial sites. Seven of these are known to be existing Jewish cemeteries. ESJF’s surveys in […]

ESJF national seminar on Jewish cemetery preservation brought together more than 20 museum professionals, local historians, and cultural heritage specialists in Budapest for two days of learning and discussion. We are honoured to have the seminar opened by Prof. Dr. Andor Grósz, President of the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (MAZSIHISZ-Magyarországi Zsidó Hitközségek Szövetsége); Dr. […]

ESJF, in partnership with Yad Vashem Archives, Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Museum “Jews in Latvia”, is organising an online seminar for museum professionals and representatives of cultural heritage institutions in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. 29 July 2026 | 18:30 – 20:30 | Zoom The seminar will explore the […]

This burial site is located immediately adjacent to residential properties. The walls of nearby houses and outbuildings stand just a few dozen centimeters from the tombstones. The new fence now clearly defines the cemetery’s boundaries, reducing the risk of accidental damage to the graves. The Selenča Jewish cemetery was most likely established at the very […]

It brought together 24 students from across Ukraine and took place in Kryzhopil and Zhabokrych (Podolia). For most participants, this was their very first encounter with Jewish cultural heritage, and especially with Jewish cemeteries. Throughout the camp, participants attended lectures and workshops on the region’s multicultural heritage, its Jewish past, and its surviving Jewish heritage. […]

Among the speakers were H.E. Hubert Knirsch, Ambassador of Germany to the Republic of Moldova; H.E. Yoram Elron, Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Republic of Moldova; Victor Gonta, Mayor of Mărculești; and Alexandra Fishel, Educational Projects Officer at ESJF. The ceremony concluded with a memorial prayer led by Chief Rabbi Mendel Axelrod. […]