Photo. "Those who can read Hebrew will recognize the word "shalom" jutting out from the menorah atop the rocks. On the east and west sides is a Star of David. On the south side is a HoHoKam Indian sun-symbol -- "those who vanished" in the Papago Indian language. Both Jewish and Indian religious items, including soil from Israel are within the monument base.The rocks/pebbles were left by past visitors. The plaque reads "Dedicated to the Jewish pioneers and their Indian friends - Erected by the Jewish Friendship Club of Green Valley 1984" Additional photos. [June 2009]
Southwest Jewish Archives has Tombstone cemetery information.
Tombstone Jewish Cemetery within Boothill Graveyard: "Only one grave has been located (child), no name. Contact Dr. David Sirota, 564 S. Corpino de Pecho, Green Valley, AZ 85613. Boothill Graveyard in historic Tombstone is known throughout the world as the final resting-place of the Wild West's most legendary characters. Boothill was established as Tombstone's cemetery in 1879 but closed 1884 because it was full. Located on a hill facing the Dragoon Mountains, Boothill is designed with long narrow piles of stones marking its occupants. One area of the graveyard was reserved for Chinese citizens.
Another isolated area in the far northeast corner is a space once dedicated as a Jewish cemetery. Local Jews were buried some distance from those who died naturally or violently in Tombstone's silver rush. Thousands have visited Boothill, but the existence of the Jewish cemetery is recalled by only a few. Judge C. Lawrence Hue recently happened on the historic Jewish cemetery at Boothill when Tombstone author Al Turner showed the site to him and his Jewish visitors from Maryland. Defined only by a crumbling, now only four-foot high adobe brick wall, the approximately 2,500-square foot burial ground was unnoticed for more than 100 years. Judge Lawrence Huerta, a full-blooded Yaqui Indian from Tucson, was spiritually affected when guest Israel Rubin recited Kaddish at the abandoned site. He was moved to restore the desolate graveyard in memory of those now forgotten. "The state of the Jewish cemetery at Boothill moved me deeply. A burial place is sacred to my people; and I wanted this place to be treated with the respect it once had. In honoring my Jewish brothers, I feel I am also honoring the lost and forgotten bones of my own people who lay where they fell when the west was being settled." In March 1983, the Tombstone City Council wholeheartedly approved Huerta's restoration efforts as did the Jewish Friendship Club of Green Valley, Arizona, and a non-profit Arizona corporation was formed to carry out the work involved. The officers and directors of the corporation have cleaned the site, built a wrought iron fence to protect the remaining adobe brick wall, and erected a simple monument to commemorate all Jewish pioneers who helped to settle the West before the turn of the century. Rededicating of the site occurred in October 1983. The monument stands on a platform faced with rock from nearby silver mines that bears a Mogen David on its east and west sides. The south face is a HoHoKam Indian sun-symbol -- meaning "those who vanished" in the Papago Indian language. Representative Jewish and Indian religious items donated by the officers and directors of the corporation are inside. Included is soil from Israel so that those who lie there can "dwell in the house of the Lord forever." The flames of a especially designed "menorah" atop the monument spell "Shalom," symbolizing the hope that all who share Mother Earth can dwell together in harmony. Appropriate ceremonies marked the dedication of the monument in February 1984. A path was cleared. The site is marked it with an appropriate sign. These activities were accomplished at a cost of $3,000. To help create a memorial fund for the perpetual care of the Jewish Cemetery, all interested persons can make a tax-deductible donation to an interest-bearing trust account to pay for the continued care and up-keep of the Jewish Cemetery.
Donations may be sent to the Tombstone Historical Jewish Graveyard, Inc., 564 Corpino de Pecho, Green Valley, AZ 85614. Tombstone Historical Jewish Graveyard Inc. websites and handout from store at Tombstone Cemetery were the source of this information as was "An Old West Cemetery for Jews is Rededicated in Tombstone," Special to The New York Times; (Feb. 29, 1984).
Images. images. historical information from the Bloom Southwest Jewish Archives and restoration information. history. [April 2010]
See GREEN VALLEY, Arizona. [August 2005]
UPDATE: See Cemeteries of the US, Deborah M. Burek, ed. Gale Research Int., Detroit MI (1994) ISBN 0-8103-9245-3.