Why did Jews make a big furor over things being built over or next to a Jewish cemetery from the Holocaust?
They are deeply particular about burial places for their dead and about where loved ones are buried. That concern extends to Jewish cemeteries of the Holocaust, so proposals to build over or next to such a cemetery provoked a big furor. The pattern reflects a continuing sensitivity to proper burial.
Les explains that Abraham's insistence on paying for the burial site, rather than accepting it free, illustrates a trait he sees continuing in present-day Jewry: Jews are particular about the burial of their dead. He recalls that a few years earlier Jews made a big furor when things were built over or next to one of the Jewish cemeteries of the Holocaust, showing they have a strong feeling about burial places. He notes he picked this up from an article in the Jerusalem Post, where a rabbi used it as an example, saying, "Even today, we Jews are particular about where we bury our loved ones." Les finds it interesting that so much of the Old Testament still carries through to the present.