Did Amy Winehouse’s Funeral Break Jewish Laws?
July 2011 – Entertainment and Stars
Questions are being raised about some aspects of Amy Winehouse’s funeral and if they violated Jewish laws. Although the funeral in London on Tuesday was conducted by a rabbi, and the Winehouse family later sat shiva in accordance with Jewish laws, other elements of her funeral might not have been kosher. For one thing, the 27-year-old singer was cremated, instead of being buried, which Jewish law prescribes.
End-of-life conference held in Chicago
July 2011 – JUF News
The North American Chevra Kadisha and Jewish Cemetery Conference were held on Skokie in June. The conference was held jointly by two organizations: Kavod v’Nichum—Honor and Comfort, and The Jewish Cemetery Association of North America (JCANA). The term chevra kadisha means “sacred society” and refers to a Jewish society which tends to the deceased.
Woman sues Chevra Kadisha over funeral segregation
May 2011 – YNet News
Netanya resident instructed to stand apart from men in friend’s funeral files suit for NIS 32,000 claiming discrimination
Jewish Burial Society buys Cemetery
May 2011 – Jewish Press Group of Tampa Bay
Chapel Hill Memorial Park has been sold to the Jewish Burial Society of Pinellas County which is promising to restore and upgrade the Largo cemetery.
The society is a non-profit organization created by members of Temple Beth-El and Congregation B’nai Israel of St. Petersburg, which will operate as a separate entity to run the cemetery.
RIP: Bitter Dispute Over Jewish Burial Society Operations
March 2011 – Village Voice
Well, the lawsuit that Specht filed against Lanzuter is finally over nearly two years later.
Scottish burial society worker makes landmark bias claim
January 2011 – JTA
In a landmark case, a Jewish burial society employee in Scotland says he was fired for becoming involved with the Masorti movement.
Israel Chevra Kadisha Announces Strike No Burial Services to be Held
January 2011 – Vos Is Neias
Israel – Jewish burial services in major Israeli cities will be on hold from Tuesday morning until 2 p.m… It came in the wake of the recent slaying of Haifa’s Ashkenazi Hevra Kadisha director Benny Hesse, who was gunned down outside his house on Sunday.
With Demise of Jewish Burial Societies, Resting Places Are in Turmoil
August 2009 – New York Times
…families have discovered that the cemetery properties where they expected to be buried among spouses, children and parents are caught in a legal knot that no one can untangle.
The reason: the Jewish burial societies that sold the gravesites no longer have administrators. Founded by the immigrant ancestors of the people caught in this bind, the societies, in effect, have died.
How Century-Old Burial Societies Were Taken Over by Black-Market Speculators
April 2009 – Village Voice News
Specht has been battling in and out of court with the Lanzuter Benevolent Association over allegations that the organization has not fulfilled its mission to finance the costs of funerals for its members, and has instead warehoused hundreds of grave sites in New York and New Jersey, and even misappropriated money.