Beth_Haim_of_Ouderkerk_aan_de_Amstel

Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel

Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel

Historic Jewish cemetery in North Holland, Netherlands


The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel is the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Netherlands.[1] It was purchased for use as a burying ground by the Jewish community of Amsterdam in 1614 and is located in the village of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, in the countryside near Amsterdam.[2]

Jewish cemetery outside Amsterdam, ca. 1670
Beth Haim in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel
Grave of Menasseh Ben Israel
The Jewish Cemetery, one of the paintings by Jacob van Ruisdael

In addition to its age, the graveyard is interesting because the tombstones have inscriptions in three languages, Portuguese, Dutch and Hebrew, and because, unusually for a Jewish cemetery, many of the tombstones are carved with elaborate scenes including human figures.

There are two paintings by Jacob van Ruisdael that were inspired by Beth Haim. Although the paintings are usually called in English "The Jewish Cemetery at Ouderkerk", the artist felt free to add picturesque elements, and they therefore do not closely resemble the actual location.

People

Famous people buried at the Beth Haim include:

The cemetery is open to visitors and is free of charge.

See also


References

  1. L. Alvarez Vega, The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, 1994
  2. García-Arenal, Mercedes; Wiegers, Gerard (2007). A Man of Three Worlds: Samuel Pallache, a Moroccan Jew in Catholic and Protestant Europe. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  3. "Palache, Samuel". Amstel: Dutch Jewry. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  4. "Haham Joseph PARDO". 1999. Retrieved 1 Oct 2015.
  5. "Rabbi/Haham David 'Joseph' PARDO". 1999. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  6. "Hazan Joseph 'David' PARDO". 1999. Retrieved 1 Oct 2015.

52°17′43″N 4°54′15″E


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