| Shaare Zedek Cemetery | |
|---|---|
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 Interactive map of Shaare Zedek Cemetery | |
| Details | |
| Established | 19 July 1948 |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 31°47′14″N35°12′24″E / 31.7872°N 35.2068°E /31.7872; 35.2068 |
| Type | Jewish |
TheShaare Zedek Cemetery is a smallJewish burial ground located behind the firstShaare Zedek Hospital inJerusalem. Originally used by the hospital as farmland for grazingmilk cows, the area was converted into a temporary cemetery during theArab siege of Jerusalem in 1948. Approximately 200 burials were conducted here between March and October of that year. Most graves were transferred to permanent cemeteries after the war, but a handful remain, notably those of several prominent Jerusalem rabbis and the founding director of Shaare Zedek Hospital, Dr.Moshe Wallach.
The cemetery is located on the north side of Shazar Boulevard, between Nordau and Agrippas Streets.[1]
Until 1948, Jewish burials in Jerusalem were conducted in the centuries-old Jewish cemetery on theMount of Olives. In January 1948, the Arab siege of Jerusalem made the Mount of Olives inaccessible, as the route to the cemetery passed through hostile Arab villages.[2] A new burial ground was opened next to theSanhedria neighborhood on the northern border on March 28, 1948.[3] Since theSanhedria Cemetery was operated under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Kehilat Yerushalayimchevra kadisha (burial society), founded in 1939 byZionist leaders and moderate rabbis of theOld Yishuv, manyHaredi residents of the Old Yishuv refused to use it, prompting the need for another burial ground in Jerusalem.[4]
In March 1948, thechevra kadisha of thePerushim andAshkenazim asked Shaare Zedek Hospital director Dr. Wallach, an activist in theAgudath IsraelOrthodox Jewish movement,[5] for permission to erect a temporary burial ground on land beside his hospital.[6] This land had formerly been used to grazemilk cows to provide fresh milk to hospitalized children.[4] From March through October 1948, approximately 200 burials took place here. Some time after the war ended, most of the graves were transferred to permanent cemeteries.[6]
A handful of graves still remain on the site.[7] The most notable are:
| Christian cemeteries | |
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| Islamic cemeteries | |
| Jewish cemeteries | |
| Military cemeteries | |
| Tombs |
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