The official agencies dealing with Jewish burial arrangements in the Czechoslovakian capital went on record as opposing the burial in the Jewish cemetery of the ashes of cremated bodies as contrary to Jewish religious tradition.
At a joint meeting of the Prague Chevra Kadisha, Jewish burial society, and the Kehillah board, a decision was taken that no burial in the cemetery be accorded to such ashes unless and until the authorities demand it. Generally, to provide for such cases the meeting decided to make available a special zone outside the Jewish cemetery, when funds for this purpose will be available.
The action is the result of a controversy between the Kehillah and the authorities. The case arose when the family of a Jewish actor, Oscar Egerer, who was cremated, insisted on burial within the Jewish cemetery and the court ruled that the community has no right to refuse any one of its members “decent burial.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
