Het "Stenenarchief"

The Israeli organization Akevoth (specialized in Dutch-Jewish genealogy) and the Nederlands-Israelitisch Kerkgenootschap (Organization of Jewish Communities in the Netherlands) launched a new website: www.stenenarchief.org on January 24th.  This website is aimed at visualizing all still existing Jewish gravestones in the Netherlands.

Photographed gravestones with accompanying data of the first eighteen Jewish cemeteries can now be viewed online on www.stenenarchief.org.  The Hebrew text and transcription from Hebrew to Dutch, as well as the Dutch texts on the gravestones are shown alongside each photograph.

The photographs have a blind stamp with the logos of the Nederlands-Israelitisch Kerkgenootschap and Akevoth.

Volunteers have completely worked out the data and a fully new program has been developed to display the implemented data in an easy and user-friendly manner.  Besides the mentioned reproduction of text and translations, the personal details of the deceased as they figure on the stone are embodied in a database with search function. www.stenenarchief.org forms an addition to burial registers, serves as a recovery of lost burial registers and, generally, the particular purpose is foremost the preservation of the "stones archive" for the generations to come.

Moreover, many descendants, or persons related in another manner to the deceased do not  live in the Netherlands anymore, or for other reasons, are unable to perform regular visits to the graves. In addition the data of the gravestones are also highly valuable for genealogical interested parties all over the globe.

Meanwhile also a digital database of photographs of around 100 cemeteries has been built up and will be further expanded by the volunteers.

Unique in this database is that, through special research, a link will also be established to show genealogical and historical data pertaining to the deceased, wherever and to the extent possible. The digital database where the stones are processed is not accessible. However, in their finished form the data will be published rubricated per cemetery, during the coming years that this project will require, and will become available for the interested Internet public drop by drop. The data of the first eighteen cemeteries are now online.

For more information:

Nederlands-Israelitisch Kerkgenootschap

Ruben Vis, secretary

e-mail

Tel: + 31 (0) 20 301 8484

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Amoetat Akevoth

Reinier Bobbe, coordinator for the Netherlands

e-mail:

Tel: + 31 (0) 20 600 3026

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Ben Noach, coordinator for Israel

e-mail

Tel: + 972 (0) 3 631 3615