Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery

The first burials of Jews on the Mount of Olives occurred almost 3,000 years ago. During the 1^st and 2^nd Temple periods, Jews were buried in caves that are scattered around the Mount of Olives. The current configuration of the cemetery began around the 16^th century. There are an estimated 70,000 graves (and 150,000 bodies) in the cemetery.

The Mount of Olives cemetery is located across the Kidron Valley from the eastern wall of the old city of Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount. Initially the cemetery was located directly outside the walls of the old city, but under pressure from Muslim leaders in the 14^th century, it was moved across the Kidron Valley to its present location. Jewish folk tradition has that those buried on the Mount of Olives will be the first to be resurrected when the Messiah appears.

Many famous Rabbis are buried in the Mount of Olives, as well as famous Israeli political and cultural figures such as Menachem Begin, former Prime Minister of Israel; and Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the father of Modern Hebrew. Even a few Christians are buried on the Mount of Olives, including Princess Alice of Battenberg, the mother of Prince Phillip, husband of the Queen of England.

If you look closely at some of the grave sites, rather than seeing flowers, you’ll see stones! While this is an ancient tradition, and not a commandment, its origins are unclear. During times of the Temple in Jerusalem, Priests would become impure if they came within four feet of a corpse. As a result, Jews began marking graves with piles of rocks in order to indicate to passing priests that they should maintain their distance. As well, flowers, though beautiful, will eventually die. A stone will not die and can symbolize the permanence of memory and legacy. Many people take special care in choosing a stone to put on the grave of a loved one. It may be a stone from a place that was significant to the deceased, a stone that was chosen at an event during which the deceased was especially missed, or simply an interesting or attractive rock.

Interested in being buried on the Mount of Olives? First, it helps if you’re a Jew, living in Jerusalem. Second, while Israeli law covers the cost of most people who die in Israel (including foreign tourists), there are fees associated with “exclusive” or “closed” cemeteries. For the Mount of Olives, in 2016, those fees were running as much as $57,000.00 per burial. Better start saving!