Jewish tombstones used for paving being moved to cemetery in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast
Matzevot were placed on the pavement instead of tiles (Photo:Vitaliy Kamozin/Facebook)
About 300 matzevot, or Jewish tombstones, that had historically been used as paving slabs in the town of Sniatyn, will be returned to a Jewish cemetery in Ivano-Frankivsk thanks to the efforts of Ukraine's Jewish community activists, the head of United Jewish Community of Ukraine, Vitaliy Kamozin, wrote on Facebook on May 16.
"The leaders of the Jewish community of Ivano-Frankivsk, Ihor Perelman and Maksym Murzov, are putting in titanic efforts, 14 hours a day," he wrote.
"Up to 100 stones have already been transported. As most of them are broken, they are being carefully stacked on pallets and then placed in the same form at the Jewish cemetery. It is a real historical find, we found matzevot with beautiful carvings, and so far the oldest ones we can read are from 1803/1827."
The community has already paid UAH 160,000 ($4,300) for the removal of these tombstones from pavement, though cost estimates for the endeavor have risen to UAH 30-40,000 ($810-1,080). The majority of the funds are used to purchase new paving slabs.
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