From the Los Angeles Times, March 28, 2013: “A search at Mount Zion for the tomb of a prominent Yiddish author reveals a dystopian landscape of toppled tombstones that no one seems to own.”
In 1974, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles started paying a monthly fee for the upkeep of the cemetery but the place has remained a mess for decades.
Rabbi Moshe Greenwald of the downtown Chabad wants to restore the grounds. In reply to my inquiry, he said: “We must do everything in our power to fix and restore the vandalized and smashed graves of Mt. Zion cemetery. This is not a “nice thing to do” rather it must be a top priority. How we treat our dead shows a lot of what kind of society we are. That this is happening in the second largest Jewish city in the country is appalling. We already have a contractor ready to do the work at cost price. We are ready to begin the work and we will need people to donate generously to make this happen. If this was your mother, would you not do the same?”
