Yesterday within the framework of our new European Commission grant, the ESJF’s Legal Research Officer met with Dr. Aleksandra Gliszczyńska-Grabias, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Instytut Nauk Prawnych PAN) and legal expert in anti-discrimination law, freedom of speech and memory laws and Avraham Yishai, Head of the Legal Centre for combating antisemitism at the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (IJL) to discuss Jewish cemeteries.
During the meeting, Dr. Gliszczyńska-Grabias and Yishai not only agreed on the importance of protecting abandoned Jewish cemeteries and preserving Jewish cultural heritage in the EU project countries but also offered the ESJF support in achieving these goals. We are particularly grateful for the proposed guidance of the IJL, which will help the ESJF to advocate for changes in policies and legal regulations to secure the protection of Jewish cemeteries.
The IJL also offered to support litigation matters in relation to the ownership of Jewish cemeteries as in some countries there are several legal obstacles that stand in the way of the ESJF’s mission. This will help to protect as many Jewish burial sites as possible!