How did Sanhedria Cemetery come to be a burial ground? This is a story of necessity born from conflict. Sanhedria Cemetery is a Jewish burial ground in the heart of western Jerusalem. It spans 27 dunams. That is about 6.67 acres.
Until 1948, Jewish burials in Jerusalem primarily took place on the Mount of Olives. The Arab siege of Jerusalem that year changed everything. The Mount of Olives became inaccessible. The route passed through hostile Arab villages. A tragedy on March 23 1948 became the catalyst for this cemetery. Three British army trucks exploded on Ben Yehuda Street. These trucks were filled with kerosene. The explosion collapsed the Atlantic Hotel. Adjacent buildings were heavily damaged. Forty-two Jewish people died in the blast. There was nowhere to bury them.
For five days, the bodies lay in the courtyard of Bikur Holim Hospital. Representatives of the Kehilat Yerushalayim searched for a burial site. They found an empty lot near the Sanhedria neighborhood. It was near a government agricultural experiments station. British Mandate authorities granted permission. Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Ben-Zion Hai Uziel consecrated the site. Thousands attended the burial on the fifth day.
Sanhedria Cemetery became a refuge for those who could not reach the Mount of Olives. In April 1948, 47 victims of the Hadassah medical convoy massacre were buried in a mass grave here. They were burned beyond recognition. Later, a son of one victim discovered a discrepancy. Only 25 victims were buried there. Twenty-two had been declared missing.
With the outbreak of war in May 1948, Sanhedria Cemetery was near the front line. It was exposed to enemy fire. Burials stopped and restarted with ceasefires. Pallbearers were even targeted by Arab sniper fire. One died. This caused another cessation of burials.
After the 1949 Armistice Agreement, Sanhedria Cemetery became a regular burial ground. The Mount of Olives remained under Jordanian control. New neighborhoods encircled the cemetery. These included Shmuel HaNavi, Maalot Dafna, and Ramat Eshkol.
After the establishment of Israel, the cemetery faced legal issues. It was not registered with the government land-ownership office. It also violated building codes. Israeli law requires a minimum distance of 100 meters between graves and apartments. Some sections of Sanhedria Cemetery had only 20 meters.
The Kehilat Yerushalayim chevra kadisha exclusively operates Sanhedria Cemetery. Zionist leaders and moderate rabbis founded this burial society in 1939. Many Haredi residents shunned the cemetery because of this.
Graves in Sanhedria Cemetery have horizontal limestone gravestones. These stones are engraved with the name, date, and accolades of the deceased. Eleazar Sukenik and his wife Chassia have uniquely decorated gravestones. Sukenik was an Israeli archeologist. His gravestones feature carvings and motifs of the Second Temple era.
Burial plots here are not subsidized by the state. A double plot cost 75000 shekels in 2008. By 2025, it had risen to 120000 shekels.
The Sanhedria Funeral Parlor stands at the cemetery’s southern end. Menachem Begin eschewed a state funeral in 1992. He chose eulogies at the Sanhedria Funeral Parlor. He was buried on the Mount of Olives. The side of the funeral parlor displays large metal letters. These letters read: “Meeting Place for All the Living”.
Many notable figures are buried in Sanhedria Cemetery. These include rabbis, academics, and government officials. Among them are Rabbis Shalom Cohen, Ben Zion Abba Shaul, and Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog. Also interred here are poet Yehuda Amichai and first governor of the Bank of Israel David Horowitz. Sanhedria Cemetery is more than a burial ground. It is a testament to Jerusalem’s resilience.