U.S. government, Austria restore famed rabbi’s grave in Eisenstadt

The US government’s Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad in conjunction with the Austrian government and Jewish community celebrated the reconstruction on Sunday of the grave of Rabbi Meir Eisenstadt, a top scholar in the 18th century.The ceremony took place as Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz toured Jerusalem on Sunday as part of a three-day visit to Israel.Also known as the Panim Meirot, for the book of responsa that he wrote, Eisenstadt died 300 years ago on the 27th day of Sivan which fell this year on June 10. He served up until his death as the chief rabbi of the Austrian city of Eisenstadt, taking the city's name as his own. One of his descendants is Stuart Eizenstat, a former US ambassador to the European Union and deputy secretary of the treasury.“We are here because it is our duty to recognize, celebrate and preserve our Jewish heritage,” Chairman of the Commission Paul Packer said at the ceremony. “The work that we recognize today – the restoration of Rabbi Meir’s gravestone – reflects our shared commitment to that duty.”The ceremony was attended by leaders of the Austrian Jewish community, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of the Interior Karoline Edtstadler as well as additional Austrian dignitaries and parliamentarians.Packer said that the restoration of the 300-year-old grave-site was important “at a time when Jewish heritage is threatened by forces that seek to deny us our right to celebrate who we are and where we come from.”As a result, he said, “we must ensure that our work to safeguard our history does not stop here. It must extend around the world—from a cemetery in Austria to American and African and Asian shores, and of course, to our homeland, Israel.”