A dispute over a historic Jewish cemetery in the Indian city of Jabalpur has sparked outrage among Indian Jewish community leaders in Israel, who say local actors are trying to seize the land while graves and infrastructure at the site have been damaged.
Following reports of damage to the only Jewish cemetery in the area and an alleged attempt to take control of the land, leaders of Israel’s Indian Jewish community appealed to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, the Chief Rabbinate, the Foreign Ministry and Israeli and Indian diplomatic missions, demanding urgent diplomatic and legal intervention.
The historic Jewish cemetery in Jabalpur, India
(Video: Bhaskar English)
According to reports from India, the cemetery, established about 100 years ago, has become the focus of a land dispute after parties described in local media as a “land mafia” sought to take over the site, claiming it is private land.
Members of the local Jewish community say tombstones have been damaged in recent months, some of them destroyed, while the cemetery’s fences were breached and its entrance gate was stolen.
In response, representatives of the Diwakar and Kheimkar families, together with leaders of the Indian Jewish community in Israel, sent a letter titled: “Desecration and looting of Jewish soldiers’ graves in India, and a grave attempted cover-up through false displays.”
In the letter, they described the case as a “severe, criminal and planned violation of the dignity and memory of Jewish fallen.” They said the cemetery includes the graves of Jews who, according to local tradition, served in the British Army during the period of British rule in India.
The writers said the desecration of the gravestones constituted “a blatant trampling of basic values, Jewish law and international law.”
They also criticized an initiative to bring statues to Israel, claiming it has created a public sense that the move may be an attempt to divert attention from the damage to the cemetery. If that is the case, they wrote, it would amount to “a cynical and outrageous attempt to blur or symbolically compensate, in an empty way, for the desecration of graves,” adding that such a move would be “a double violation of the dignity of the dead and the feelings of the public.”
(Photo: Bhaskar English)
In their appeal, community leaders called on the Israeli government to take several steps, including promoting a joint investigation with Indian authorities into the circumstances of the cemetery damage, identifying the parties behind the initiative to bring the statues to Israel and examining its sources of funding.
They also asked officials to examine the possibility of bringing the remains of the late Saji Diwakar to Israel for Jewish burial, prevent the statues from entering Israel or remove them if they have already been brought in, and provide regular public updates in Israel on developments in the case.
“This affair is a first-order moral, national and ethical test,” the Indian Jewish representatives wrote. “Foot-dragging, disregard or passive cooperation with attempts at a cover-up will be considered the abandonment of the dignity of Jewish deceased and fallen, and an irreversible blow to historical memory.”
The signatories demanded an official response from authorities within seven days. They warned that if no concrete steps are taken, they will escalate the public, legal and media campaign in Israel and around the world until those responsible are held accountable and the historic Jewish cemetery in Jabalpur is protected.