Moldovan PM says restored Jewish cemetery from Chisinau might be Jewish cultural centre

Chisinau, 20 October /MOLDPRES/ – Prime Minister, Pavel Filip, called for developing of an action plan for rehabilitation of Jewish Cemetery in Chisinau and building of a Jewish Cultural Centre in that place, including several historical objectives of the Jewish community, the government’s communication and protocol department has reported.

"Considering that two – thirds of cemetery is practically destroyed, here it could still be a Jewish cultural centre, a kind of Yad Vashem. The cemetery which can be restored, we restore it, including chapel, but otherwise, there may be a museum, a memorial. And then there will be a place to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust, but also an attraction for tourists," said Pavel Filip, during the on-site documentary visit.

In order to provide the Government with the necessary capacity to develop the Jewish cultural centre, the PM said that the cemetery should first be transferred from Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC) to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research (MECC). Pavel Filip also specified upon the need for a feasibility study: "We need professionals who know how to do, keep all the history inherited here, we are talking about preserving historical data. It has to be designed and I think we can attract the Jewish community here to make investments if we have a clear project."

The current state of the cemetery is disastrous. The rehabilitation initiative is part of the decision of the Government regarding the establishment in Chisinau of a museum of Jewish history of Moldova.

The Jewish cemetery in Chisinau is a historical monument with an area of ​​over 12 ha and over 40 thousand graves. There are graves and monuments, which are almost 300 years old in cemetery.