The Rabbinical Council of Italy has ruled that the remains of Jews who were cremated at their own request might be buried in Jewish cemeteries. The ruling capped a long dispute resulting from the fact that a number of Jews had made such requests, apparently on the basis of an erroneous interpretation of Jewish law.
The Rabbinical Council, ruling that it was not according to Jewish law to cremate the dead, agreed that the remains of such persons might be buried in Jewish cemeteries, but only if the fact of their cremation was not mentioned on the head-stones. It was felt that such a ban might prevent others from following the example of those who had been cremated.
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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.
