Israel's first crematorium opens [View All]

Israel's first crematorium opens
-----------------------------
Israel's first commercial crematorium has begun operation, in defiance of Jewish taboos on burning human bodies.
-----------------------------
The first person cremated was described by the media as a 66-year-old non-Jewish Latvian immigrant.

The director of the Aley Shalechet (Autumn Leaves) funeral home said he gave people "the chance to choose how they want to part from this world".

Cremation is also frowned on as a reminder of the Holocaust, but burial space is getting scarcer.

Many Israelis have been forced to pay extra to secure graves in preferred cemeteries, even though the government subsidises burial societies.

complete story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4077914.stm