Since Monday, the Jewish Community of Oporto (CIP/CJP) has started selling the graves of its recently inaugurated cemetery, which replaced the cemetery destroyed in 1497. Many individual members and entire families have already shown great interest in acquiring their last homes before the resurrection of the dead. Four-place tombs were also requested.
The contract concluded between the members of the community and CIP/CJP, which presupposes eternal validity, is being sealed upon payment of the stipulated amount and proof of being a Jew in accordance with Jewish law. The first three families who purchased four-seat graves and filled in the required documents were the Flitterman family, the Garrett family, and the Elijah family.
The name of the cemetery is a reference to a great Chief Rabbi who lived and died in Oporto following the expulsion of the Jews from Castile. Its name is Campo da Igualdade Isaac Aboab, or the Isaac Aboab Field of Equality.
To avoid acts of vandalism the Jewish community of Oporto does not publicly reveal the address of the cemetery. It is set in a quiet location on the outskirts of the city of Oporto. There are no high-rise buildings, no streets, no traffic lights, no sound of cars passing or people’s loud and constant chatter. It is as peaceful as it can possibly be. There are trees, grass, a lake, the chirping of carefree birds. And silence.
The Jewish Community of Oporto officially inaugurated its new cemetery on April 25, 2023.
The ceremony took place on Yom Hazikaron and included a tribute to fallen Israeli soldiers, and also rituals dedicated to the new sacred ground. The event was presided over by rabbis from Portugal, Israel, the USA and the UK.
