Stone setting held for children of East End community buried in unmarked graves in 1912
Hebrew Order of David funds 10 headstones at Edmonton cemetery for poverty-stricken immigrants from Eastern Europe
The first headstones for 500 graves dating back to 1912 have been set in a ceremony at Edmonton, with the youngest of the buried having died aged two, the oldest at 20.
When Samuel Montagu, Liberal MP for Whitechapel, established the Federation of Synagogues in 1887, one of his most significant acts, just two years later was to donate a strip of his family’s land in Edmonton for use as a cemetery.
The East End-based Jewish community that the Federation represented was comprised largely of Eastern European refugees, Yiddish-speaking and poverty-stricken. Infant mortality at the time was high, burial fees charged by other synagogal bodies were prohibitively expensive, and the Federation Burial Society was a sorely needed communal provision.
Some 135 years later, the cemetery, with its 40,000-strong capacity, is almost full. However, there are still significant numbers of unmarked graves, particularly in the area reserved for children and those who died unmarried.
With their large families, high rates of infant mortality and typhus running rife in the area, the Jewish community at the turn of the 20th century simply couldn’t prioritise the installation of headstones for their relatives.
Although there is no obligation under Jewish law for non-family members of the deceased to mark a grave with a headstone, having one in place certainly feels like an appropriate way to honour those who have passed.
When the Hebrew Order of David (HOD) saw the large areas of unmarked children’s graves at Edmonton, the organisation set up a committee headed by Marc Jackson and Mark Zimmerman to take action.
Now an international fundraising charity, HOD was initially established as an English ‘friendly society’ in 1896, and thus shares many of its roots with Kehillas Federation, as it is now known.
Kehillas Federation’s Av Beis Din, Rabbi Shraga Feivel Zimmerman, addressed the small group who gathered to pay tribute on Sunday.
He said: “Placement of a headstone to memorialise our deceased has been the Jewish way since our forefather Jacob. Sponsorship of headstones for those who were not able is a noble mitzvah and we commend and thank the Hebrew Order of David for initiating and spearheading this campaign to do so.”
Professor Geoffrey Alderman, the official historian of the Federation of Synagogues said: “In its first two years and eight weeks of existence, there were 199 burials in this cemetery. 117 of that 199 were the burials of children aged under one year old. People had large families and it may upset us but they expected several of their children to die.
“Three of my four great grandparents are buried in this cemetery. I want to add my thanks to the Hebrew Order of David for arranging this unique event. We look around these graves. These were the people, all throughout this cemetery, who braved the journeys from central and eastern Europe to come here and have a quieter life. And we are here because of them. Amen.”
Laurence Gishen said: “The Hebrew of David are honoured to assist in giving a dignified memorial to remember the forgotten Jewish children of the East End. A donation of £90 to our Adopt a Child Twinning Gravesite Project in the memory of a loved one you have lost or in celebration of a new life born will pay for a headstone for a forgotten Jewish child.
“Together we can remember these children and ‘Give the gift that no one can thank you for’.”
Donations may be made here.
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.
