William Goldstein (centre) views one of the graves at the Jewish cemetery along with Norman Bentley Marks (left) and Clive Gordon, president of JUTA, Negril. (Photo: Alan Lewin)

LUCEA, Hanover

William 'Billy' Goldstein, a retired Jewish businessman, is leading a project to renovate an 18th-century Jewish cemetery in this town in anticipation of the opening of the 900-room Spanish Fiesta Hotel at Point.

Goldstein, who has been visiting Jamaica since 1979, hopes to position the burial place of Jews who were prominent members of 17th and 18th century Lucea, as one of the town's main tourist attractions.

Goldstein said the burial ground, dated 1833, was brought to his attention recently by his long-time friend, Norman Bentley Marks, one of the directors of the Cousins Cove Provident Society.

"The Jews were very prominent in the development of the town of Lucea," he told the Observer West week during a tour of the site earlier this week. "It's a historic site, the people and the culture of people buried here."

The site, which is located between the Hanover Parish Library and the Lucea Anglican Church along Watson Taylor Drive and in close proximity of the historic Fort Charlotte, has been overgrown and had been untended for years.

"Our goal for this project is to clean it out and beautify it, grow grass and have benches here," said Goldstein. "We believe it can become a stop on any historical tour of Lucea," he expressed.

As such, since last Wednesday, a team of workmen have been clearing the site and have identified 11 of the 16 graves on record there. The first phase of the project Goldstein said will include repairing the fencing (damaged ballas stone walls) around the site and erecting a gate at the entrance.

Goldstein anticipates that when fully rehabilitated, the cemetery will boast manicured lawns, trees and benches and be equipped with the necessary amenities to conduct weekly cultural events there.

Goldstein, who has been conducting the clean-up activity at his own expense, said he intends to solicit donations from the Jewish community when he returns to the United States in another week. He said he would be seeking financial assistance from Jews in his hometown of Woodstock, New York, as well as from friends in Detroit, Michigan and Westport, Connecticut.

Despite the site's 1833 date, the first person on record to be buried there is a Mr Solomon Abrahams of Spanish Town, who was laid to rest on the 5th of January 1776. Many of the imported marble gravestones are still intact on a few of the identified graves although several are missing.

Goldstein said he hopes eventually that the project will be expanded to include information about the descendants of many of the persons buried at the site.

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