User:Jondel/JewishCommunityinPhil

http://www.haruth.com/JewsPhilippines.html

What happens when you die overseas, far from home, and nobody claims your body? In the Philippines some dead bodies that go unclaimed end up being rented out to people who want to put on three-day gambling benders. If you have a dead body in a casket, the cops won't come and shut down the makeshift sidewalk casino. But a phony side-of-the-road funeral would not be the ignoble fate of Jerry Zuravsky, thanks to yet another call to Art Sokolow, this one from Rosenberg. &#31478;&#20105;

After some light refreshments, everyone got in their cars and drove with the body, which was inside the hearse, the 10 kilometers out to the North Cemetery, a sprawling 250-hectare tract filled to the brim mostly with the remains of Catholics. In a far-off corner of the North Cemetery sits a small Jewish cemetery that is run by the synagogue. The cemetery is surrounded by a wrought-iron fence adorned with several Stars of David and a sign that reads "Jewish Cemetery" and the year "1925", indicating the date when it first opened. Inside the gates several hundred bodies, some dating back to the early 20th century, are buried under headstones adorned with the Star of David and inscribed in English and Hebrew lettering.

The service, conducted by Rabbi Shlomo Atias, an Israeli born in Morocco, took all of five minutes. Sokolow was the only one who spoke. Everyone on hand picked up a handful of soil and dropped it in the grave. Jerry Zuravsky was finally laid to rest.

Today the grave of Jerome A Zuravsky is a raised pile of earth, grown over with grass and adorned with a simple wood-and-tin sign painted with a Star of David, Zuravsky's name and the name of another fellow with whom he shares the plot.

Some time after the burial, Zuravsky's brother made a donation to the synagogue in thanks for the burial and plot. The synagogue is currently putting the finishing touches on the design for the headstone, which will be completed in a few weeks. The inscription reads: "Beloved Brother and Uncle, Jerome A Zuravsky. October 19, 1941 - August 30, 2001."

"My regard for the Jewish community here has really increased," said Sokolow as he recalled the burial. "Word went out that there was a Jew who passed away. That's all they needed to hear. So they showed up."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/FA13Ae02.html