Beth Haim in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel
Grave of Menasseh Ben Israel
The Jewish Cemetery, one of the paintings by Jacob van Ruisdael

The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel is the oldest Jewish cemetery in the Netherlands.[1] It was purchased for use as a burying ground by the Jewish community of Amsterdam in 1614 and is located in the village of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, in the countryside near Amsterdam.[2]

In addition to its age, the graveyard is interesting because the tombstones have inscriptions in three languages, Portuguese, Dutch and Hebrew, and because, unusually for a Jewish cemetery, many of the tombstones are carved with elaborate scenes including human figures.

There are two paintings by Jacob van Ruisdael that were inspired by Beth Haim. Although the paintings are usually called in English "The Jewish Cemetery at Ouderkerk", the artist felt free to add picturesque elements, and they therefore do not closely resemble the actual location.

People

Famous people buried at the Beth Haim include:

The cemetery is open to visitors and is free of charge.

References

  1. ↑ L. Alvarez Vega, The Beth Haim of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, 1994
  2. ↑ Beth Haim at Ouderkerk Archived May 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ García-Arenal, Mercedes; Wiegers, Gerard (2007). A Man of Three Worlds: Samuel Pallache, a Moroccan Jew in Catholic and Protestant Europe. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  4. ↑ "Palache, Samuel". Amstel: Dutch Jewry. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  5. ↑ "Haham Joseph PARDO". 1999. Retrieved 1 Oct 2015.
  6. ↑ "Rabbi/Haham David 'Joseph' PARDO". 1999. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "Hazan Joseph 'David' PARDO". 1999. Retrieved 1 Oct 2015.
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