The court granted the prosecutor's office's lawsuit and canceled the illegal privatization of the tomb-house in Medzhybizh, where Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, is buried, returning the national monument to community ownership. This was reported by the Prosecutor General's Office, writes UNN.
Details
In the Khmelnytskyi region, the court ruled to return part of the national monument — the Jewish Necropolis in Medzhybizh — to the community. As reported by the regional prosecutor's office, the basis for the review was the illegal transfer of the tomb-house, where the founder of Hasidism, Baal Shem Tov, and his associates are buried, into the private ownership of a foreigner.
The Letychiv District Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit in the interests of the state, challenging the decision of the settlement council's executive committee and demanding the cancellation of the state registration of private property rights. The court fully satisfied the prosecutors' demands, recognizing the previous decision as illegal and obliging the return of the object to the communal property of the Medzhybizh settlement council.
The decision has already entered into force. Actions are currently being taken to register the ownership of the tomb-house for the local community.
For reference
Baal Shem Tov (1698–1760) was a prominent spiritual leader and the founder of Hasidism, who spent the last two decades of his life in Medzhybizh. His grave, as well as the graves of his disciples, is an important pilgrimage site, and the Jewish Necropolis is one of the most significant objects of Jewish cultural heritage in Ukraine.
This precedent became another step in preserving national and religious heritage, protecting community rights, and preventing illegal privatization of cultural objects.