Sunday, October 15, 2000 There is an article on the Jewish cemeteries in Newark in the New Jersey section of today's New York Times. The article also mentions the existence of a Catholic cemetery in passing. Newark is in Essex County, separated from Kearney, East Newark, and Harrison by the Passaic River and lower Jersey City and Bayonne by Newark Bay. It's a long article. The key points are: 1. "There are nearly 100 Jewish cemeteries in Newark, and most of them are monuments to vandalism and neglect ... their sponsors a mix of trade unions, congregations, and groups named for a town in the old country ... Today, except for a handful of congregations that moved out west [i.e. to the western suburbs of Newark], none of these burial societies survive." "Some 150,000 Jews" are buried in these cemeteries. 2. "The Jewish Genealogy Society, led by Alice Gould, has spent the last five years creating a registry of names that will be accessible on the Web. So far, she has collected 13,000 entries, which include the Hebrew name of the deceased, the dates of birth and death, and the location of the plot." 3. "The Jewish cemeteries of Newark will be the subject of a program Oct. 29 presented by the New Jersey Historical Society. A lecture at the society's headquarters, at 52 Park Place in Newark, will be followed by a bus tour to several cemeteries. Price: $10. Information: (973) 596-8500." 4. The United Jewish Federation of Metrowest "is trying to rehabilitate the graveyards." The federation is based in Whippany, NJ. It is considered dangerous to go to these cemeteries alone. So dangerous, in fact, that the United Jewish Federation of Metrowest sponsors an annual trip to the Newark Cemeteries so that people can visit their relatives' graves safely. The trip takes place around the High Holy Days; the group is accompanied by "a volunteer group of Jewish law enforcement officers." "On Nov. 5, Ms. Gould plans to bring another group to the Grove Street cemeteries ... members of the Essex County Sheriff's Department will be on hand to keep an eye on the workers."