Israel raises the dead with skyward cemetery

PETAH TIKVA, Israel — At first glance, the multi-tiered jungle of concrete off a major central Israeli highway does not appear unusual in this city of bland high-rises. But the burgeoning towers are groundbreaking when you consider its future tenants: They will be homes not for the living but rather the dead.

With real estate at a premium, Israel is at the forefront of a global movement building vertical cemeteries in densely populated countries. From Brazil — where there is a 32-story high structure in Santos — to Japan, elevated cemeteries will be the final resting place for thousands. They are now the default option for the recently departed in the Holy Land.

After some initial hesitations, and rabbinical rulings that authorized the practice, Israel’s ultra-Orthodox burial societies have embraced the concept as the most effective Jewish practice in an era when most of the cemeteries in major population centers are packed full.

“The source of all this is that there is simply no room,” said Tuvia Sagiv, an architect who specializes in dense burial design. “It’s unreasonable that we will live one on top of the other in tall apartment buildings and then die in villas. If we have already agreed to live one on top of the other, then we can die one on top of the other.”

The Yarkon Cemetery on the outskirts of Tel Aviv has been his flagship project. As the primary cemetery for the greater Tel Aviv area, its traditional burial grounds are at near capacity with 110,000 graves stretched across 150 acres. But thanks to an array of 30 planned vertical structures, Sagiv said the cemetery will be able to provide 250,000 more graves without gobbling up any more land, providing the region with 25 years of breathing room.

“It takes some getting used to,” he admitted, as he stood on the roof of the first completed 70-foot-high building, “but it just makes the most sense.”

For now, the interior of the gray buildings looks mainly like a construction site. They feature circular ramps, and a terrace-like facade with vegetation. Each floor has openings on the sides for fresh air to get in.