‘A very wrong thing’: rabbis are rebuked over burial of victims
Terror victim who had not completed conversion to Judaism denied Jewish burial
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
Appalled Knesset members have warned Israel’s rabbinate that they must find a solution to the strict rules governing cases of conversion and burial, after cases came to light of burials “outside the cemetery fence” of people murdered on 7 October, but not considered Jewish according to halacha, or Jewish law.
Olga Palhati lost her 23-year-old daughter Alina to Hamas terrorists when she was killed at the Supernova music festival at Kibbutz Re’em. The Russian-Israeli could not be buried inside the Beit She’an cemetery because, rabbis ruled, she had not completed her conversion to Judaism at the time of her death.
The young woman’s mother told a Knesset committee considering the speeding up of the conversion process for those currently serving in the IDF — thought to be an issue for more than 7,000 young people — that Alina “died because the terrorists looked for Jews to kill. They didn’t look to see who’s Christian.”
Palhati, 49, told the Times of Israel that Alina should have been buried as a Jew “because she had decided to be Jewish, and the only reason she didn’t finish her conversion was because she was killed for her Judaism.
“It hurts and it deeply disappoints us that she wasn’t buried in accordance with who she was.”
Palahti, who is not Jewish, emigrated to Israel in 2001 with her Jewish husband, Roman, from Kaliningrad. The couple’s son Ilya, Alina’s older brother, completed an Orthodox conversion process and is thus regarded as Jewish.
The Knesset committee’s chair, Oded Forer, said he was “ashamed on behalf of the state of Israel that you were treated this way”.
He called Palhati’s treatment “the greatest insult to someone who sanctified the land of Israel with their blood, who left their place in exile to come here.” He then declared: “I want to be buried next to such a person, even if it means being buried outside the fence.”
In another case discussed by the committee, an entire family killed by Hamas terrorists were buried outside the fence of the Dimona cemetery, because the father of the family, Evgeni Kapshiter, was not Jewish.
Though his wife, Dina, and their two children, Aline, aged eight, and Eitan, aged five, were halachically Jewish, the children’s grandparents decided that all four should be buried side by side.
Those listening to the testimonies appeared horrified.
Elazar Stern, a Knesset member from Yesh Atid, said: “I apologise on behalf of all Judaism. This is not the Judaism we are a part of. Not our children’s, not our grandchildren’s [and] not my Judaism.”
Rabbi Haim Amsalem, a former Shas MK, said the treatment of these families bordered on criminal. “There is no description,” he said, “that can capture this very wrong thing.”
And one rabbi, Eliezer Simcha Weiss, a member of the rabbinate’s committee for honouring the dead, said he thought there could and should be solutions to these situations.
He said: “They did not distinguish between Jews and non-Jews in the brutal attack. We can do everything in line with Jewish law.”
Another MK, Yuli Malinovsky, said: “If on the subject of conversion and burial, you won’t change the limits, the people will blow up the limits for you. Today, we’re asking you. In the future, we will demand it.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
