OUR WORK

From the outset in 2009, our work at CJCRO has consisted of two areas of endeavor. One area, in Chernivtsi, is directly involved with the local efforts of restoration of the cemetery grounds and graves, and the coordination of the work, interactions with local authorities and political leaders.

The other area, not directly in Chernivtsi, involves all the other activities necessary to make the restoration work in Chernivtsi possible.

Supporting activities outside of Chernivtsi:

1. Fund raising, which presently comes from CJCRO members, the Czernowitz Ehpes email list, Czernowitzers and their descendants living all over the globe, Jewish organizations, various NGOs, many persons interested in the history, tradition and preservation of what was Jewish Bukovina.

2. Publicizing CJCRO ’s existence and work and recruiting new members who could assure the continuation of activities for the longer term.

3. Interaction with organizations, Synagogues, Jewish communities and individuals who have an interest in the preservation of the Czernowitz Jewish cemetery and have actively contributed with volunteers and advice for many years.

In the Czernowitz cemetery our activities are as follows:

1. Coordination of annual work with local CJCRO team lead by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Glisnshtain and Yakov Schwartzman. This is achieved during annual visits by the CJCRO leadership team from the USA. The key steps consist of the hiring of the workers who perform the cleaning work and their team leaders, purchasing of herbicides and work tools, scheduling of work for the respective season and follow-up for timely tasks completion and quality control.

 

2. Interaction with the local Cemeteries Administration.

3. Interaction with local University Silviculture Department and Botanical Garden to determine best options for herbicide selection and application.

 

4. Interaction with Chernivtsi Municipal Government and the Mayor. As owner in title of the Jewish Cemetery of Czernowitz the Municipal Government has always been supportive of the CJCRO activities and has helped speed-up various cemetery maintenance activities despite the limited budget available.

 

5. Interaction with volunteer groups from international organizations such as SVIT -Ukraine and Aktion Suehnezeichen Friedensdienste Germany 10 who are coming every summer to Czernowitz for helping with the cemetery clean-up work. CJCRO members both from Israel and the USA as well as local Czernowitz members are meeting with the volunteers to express thanks for the exceptional goodwill and altruistic work performed.

 

6. ​Interaction with the local team of The Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities (VAAD) of Ukraine who is involved in the reconstruction of the mortuary building at the entrance of the cemetery and the larger project of creating a Holocaust Museum at the cemetery site.

Due to the generous financial contributions and help of CJCRO members, other donors and institutions over the last ten years, and due to the CJCRO team work the Czernowitz Jewish cemetery has evolved from a place which was totally neglected, overgrown and impenetrable in 2008, to a place which today is very easy to access and visit.

There still are many things to do for the next few years. More trees have to be cut down to prevent the reproduction of invasive saplings, the various parcels have to be identified with metal plates to enable visitors to easily locate the tombs they want to visit, the access to the cemetery map, records and tomb locations must be made easily available to all visitors.

More than everything the vegetation clean-up work and the spraying with herbicides must be continued year after year without which the state of the cemetery would return to the situation from before CJCRO started its work.

To perform this work, we need the continued financial support of all past contributors as well as the participation of new individuals and institutions who have an interest in helping our cause.

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