Orthodox Cemetery in Bonyhad etc.

Hello,

Since late spring 2022 Shlomo Singer and I tried  to find a solution to the deplorable situation at the Bonyhad Orthodox cemetery.

At the time there were about 14 dogs and some are of aggressive nature.

We helped pay for a fence to at least prevent dogs from being in the area where the graves are. A local woman Beata (Bea) Hetesi initiated this effort.

Unfortunately the fence was not made well and had to be fixed, but that still did not protect visitors from the dogs. We heard that they found a way to burrow under or at the side of the fence. Also sometimes or often the fence gates were left open, in which case of course the fence is useless.

During the summer Shlomo and I were ready to send some money to have the female dogs inoculated per law and serialized in order to prevent the birth of new dogs. The local woman  kindly tried to help and made the necessary arrangements, but regretfully the caretaker prevented that effort. 

He has no family and regards the dogs as his children. Regretfully the dogs reproduced since then.

Last week it came to our attention that the fence was seriously damaged when a tree or its branches fell on it.

Building material has been sent to Bonyhad to build a  new and better fence. We asked that it be planned and constructed in such a way that visitors would not encounter dogs from entry at the street to the grave area  - that is they would walk through a "sterile" corridor to the geaves. We suggested that if there would be gates on the fence they should have a spring based system to automatically close them.

We also suggested an electronic lock on a gate right by the grave site and an Internet based weatherproof remote pannable, zoomable camera so we can determine even from far the situation in that part of the general area. Hope our suggestions will be taken into account.

Of course the above does not remove the dogs. That turns out to be a difficult problem. We made many requests to the Jewish Community in Budapest, which is responsible for the two Bonyhad cemeteries, as well as to the Bonyhad municipality. No help was forthcoming.

We are thinking of possibly hiring a lawyer in or near Bonyhad at least for consultation and possibly to handle finding the legal means to have the dogs removed. If the expenses are non-trivial we will ask the Bonyhad Jewish Community to contribute the necessary funds.

At a personal level, the health of the caretaker, Mr.  Jozsef Val, is deteriorating. He has very high blood pressure and lately has difficulty walking. He and his ancestors served our community loyally. We inquired with the Budapest Jewish Community (his employer) and the Bonyhad municipality and asked if it is possible to provide for him a place in an old age home or other protected facility. 

An unrelated matter came up. I was advised that we have a small building next to the old cemetery which is in very bad shape. Its roof is in danger of collapsing during a heavy snowfall and its walls are in need of serious fixing, Over a decade ago Chava Rivka (Eva Illes) and I set up there a small Jewish themed exhibit, Visitor Center with a display case, various posters and Jewish religious items. I sent the posters from Jerusalem and Rabbi Zecharia Pollak in Switzerland provided a tallit and other items. If I recall, fixing the roof would cost on the order of $5,000 of which the Budapest Jewish Community would pay 50%. Beata in Bonyhad directs a foundation and that may raise possibly 25% thus our part would be under $2,000 for fixing the roof. I suggested that Beata ask for an estimate covering all needed work, including fixing the walls, cleaning, wash room, etc. 

I am not at all sure that we should have the building repaired, but if yes I suggest turning it into a pleasant and meaningful Jewish themed Visitor Center. Especially those visiting graves should be able to sit there, relax, have something to eat and drink and feel "at home". Of course this has logistic implications.

Your views on all this are welcome.

An update will be sent should the situation change.

Shalom,

Larry Pfeffer

Jerysalem