The US Army has rejected an appeal by the family of Abraham Klausner (who died on Thursday as reported HERE on YM), a leading advocate for Holocaust survivors, to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The family was told Monday that Klausner’s cremated remains may be stored at the cemetery, but that his brief service as an Army chaplain did not qualify him to receive full burial honors.
The decision drew protests from Jewish groups and a prominent congressional Democrat, who said a man with his reputation and who witnessed the horrors of a Nazi prison camp should be exempt from the rule.
Klausner, a rabbi, was the first Jewish chaplain from the Army to enter the Dachau concentration camp after it was liberated in 1945. After the war, Klausner became an advocate for survivors of the Holocaust, trying to reconnect families and writing a book about their experiences.
Army officials on Monday attributed the decision to a regulation adopted in 1967 that narrowly restricted ground burials at the popular cemetery to conserve space. In general, the regulation allows burial only of active-duty members, retirees after lengthy service and veterans who have won special awards or medals.
According to Army spokesman Paul Boyce, Klausner qualifies for ground burial at any veterans’ cemetery, but not Arlington.
Jess Hordes, Washington director of the Anti-Defamation League, said Klausner should be made an exception primarily because of his work with Holocaust survivors.
Holocaust survivor Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to the Army last week on Klausner’s behalf. On Monday, Lantos tried calling President Bush’s national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, but could not reach him, said a spokeswoman. Hadley was traveling with Bush on Monday, and a spokesman said he was unaware of the case.
Klausner’s son, Jeremy, said in an interview Monday that he needed to decide by the day’s end where to bury his father and said cremation was not an option.
The family feels strongly that for religious and (Holocaust) experience reasons, he not be required to be cremated,” his son said.
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26 Responses
I don’t understand why they want so badly he be buried in Arlington. I’m relieved that they don’t want it badly enough to cremate his body.
I echo the sentiments of flatbusher. He should be buried in a Jewish cemetery.
jewish cemetery all the way..its halachah
It’s bad enough that he was cremated. He should at least have his remains buried in a Jewish cemetary. The “honor” of being buried in Arlington is a false honor and it doesn’t do anything for his Neshomo. Unfortunately his family don’t know enough about Yiddishkeit, nebach.
yea there are other things more important we should be using Tom Lantos for than this. I hate when people ask for exceptions and use the holocaust as a rational. Let’s just follow army protocol and leave it at that.
basmelech – re-read the story – he was not cremated
Kudos to post nos.6
HASHEM SAYS, Vaavdil eschem min haamim lihiyos li’
He is separating us from all other nations to be exclusive for HIM. If yoU try to integrate, THEY will be the ones to REMIND YOU!
There is a Teshuva from the Divrei Yehoshua allowing Jewish soldiers to be buried at Arlington, becasue it is a place of Kovod. The DY was Rabbi Klavan zl of DC.
As the old saying goes, if the Yidden don’t make Kiddush, the goyim make Havdalah.
comment to #5 who writes “It’s bad enough that he was cremated”.
Evidently you missed a line in the article: “Klausner’s son, Jeremy, said in an interview Monday that he needed to decide by the day’s end where to bury his father and said *cremation was not an option*”.
Headline Issue: He was not a Holocaust survivor; he got there after it was over as part of the US army.
Of what affiliation was he a “Rabbi” that he chose to burn himself up rather than be buried?
According to this site:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jews.htm
there are some 2,500 Jewish soldiers buried at Arlington cemetery, out of 250,000 graves.
This is an unusually high percentage (10%).
nkm READ THE whole article
— HE DID DESIRE CREMATION NOR WAS HE CREMATED!
FROM THE ARTICLE: “Klausner’s son, Jeremy, said in an interview Monday that he needed to decide by the day’s end where to bury his father and said CREMATION (my emphasis) was not an option.”
To #5 and #14 evidently you are missing something in the area of reading comprehension:
The article clearly implies that he was not cremated. I quote:
“Klausner’s son, Jeremy, said in an interview Monday that he needed to decide by the day’s end where to bury his father and said *cremation was not an option*”.
‘The family feels strongly that for religious and (Holocaust) experience reasons, he not be required to be cremated,’’ his son said”.
comment to #10.
Read Rabbi Klavan’s teshuva again:
http://www.hebrewbooks.org/root/data/pdfs/AS/divreyehoshuak.pdf
It’s in Chelek 3, #13 (p. 99) (105 of 172).
A careful reading will show that he only permitted it because the deceased, who was a secular person, had requested many times to be buried there. This should not be misconstrued as a blanket “heter” for burial at Arlington cemetery. (The article above merely states that the family of Rabbi A. Klausner had appealed that he be buried there, not mentioning if this was the deceased’s expressed wishes).
In the last section of the teshuva (s.v. Aval Be’emes) he seems to opine that even if the person desires to be buried amongst non-Jews, he may still not do so (regardless if the place of burial is Arlington cemetery and “harbeh miskabdim al yedai zeh”).
#14: He wasn’t a (quote-on-quote) Rabbi. He was a so-called Rabbi with the Reform movement.
On the creaming issue… I had to read it a few times to understand if he was creamed or not. It wasnt too clear as at first it seemed he was (“The family was told Monday that Klausner’s cremated remains may be stored at the cemetery, but that his brief service as an Army chaplain did not qualify him to receive full burial honors.”) and then he wasnt.
Maybe they glued the ashes back together?!
IsraeliReader #15: According to my last math teacher, 2,500 out of 250,000 is 1% (not 10%). Maybe your teacher had a different sheeta.
In any event, perhaps Jewish soldiers are better at survival skills. Or perhaps they were discriminated against. But most likely Jewish soldiers had a propensity to be buried with their fellow Yidden in a Jewish cemetery, rather than at Arlington.
IsraeliReader #15: According to my last math teacher, 2,500 out of 250,000 is 1% (not 10%). Maybe your teacher had a different sheeta.
In any event, perhaps Jewish soldiers are better at survival skills. Or perhaps they were discriminated against. But most likely Jewish soldiers had a propensity to be buried with their fellow Yidden in a Jewish cemetary, rather than at Arlington.
I’m amazed at how many of our own cannot comprehend an article written in plain English. That is how so much mis-information gets spread and cause bad decisions to be made. I see no reason for him to be buried at Arlington. It has no kedusha.A Jew is one,dead or alive,a Jew.and his body should not be buried in a non_Jewish cemetary.
Many feel that his actions in helping war survivors enable him to be buried in Arlington, if that is the request of the family, go for it and wish you success in an Arlington burial.
To YW editor.
If you read each post, you should have deleted the last line of comment #20.
PS For those who need explaining; It seems the army said we have no place for you since you did not meet the criteria. However we will accept cremated remains,if you so choose, never the less.
One of the early American Reform platforms has the statement (iirc) that they do not believe in an Afterlife, but they believe that the soul is immortal and lives forever.
I have never understood that. What does the soul do for all eternity? Hang around bars with friends and try to breathe second-hand smoke? Haunt hotels?
While every Neshoma is Kodesh, while the person may not have been a Shomer Torah U Mitzvos, and the proper place for the goof is certainly a proper Jewish burial, I believe it is a bit late to do Kiruv on this “Rabbi”. I fail to see the reasoning behind the cals for an exception for his Arlington burial. There are other real Rabbanim who also served in the Camps, and did a lot more for the Yidden than this one. Try reading Rav Hershel Shachter’s, RY at YU, biography for example. So, who is the one who is honored?
sammy, why would he even consider the zionist white & blue. There is no indication I see that Mr. Klausner was a zionist.
That he should consider a Jewish kevura, that is the point.