US Commission No. ROCE-0198
The cemetery is in Sulita, Botosani judet, Moldavia region at 47°42' 26°56', 25 km from Botosani. Present town population is 5,000-25,000 with no Jews.
- Local Authority: Baciu Ioan, com. Sulita, Botosani judet
- Religious Authority: The Jewish Community of Botosani, Soseaua Nationala no. 220. Phone: 514659
- Regional Authority: The Federation of the Jewish Communities of Romania, Sf. Vineri str., no. 9-11, sector 3, Bucharest, Romania.
- Interested: "A.D. Xenopol" Institute of History, Lascar Catargi str., no. 15, 6400- Iasi (Iasi judet), Romania. Tel. 032/212614; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Director: Alexandru Zub.
- Caretaker and keyholder: Badarau Ion, com. Sulita, Botosani judet
The 1831 Census registered 100 Jewish families, that from 1838, 195 Jewish families and that from 1899 registered 164 Jewish inhabitants. The 1930 Census registered 88 Jewish inhabitants. Prominent residents include Sabetai ben Itac, Iosep Leib-scholar rabbis. This Jewish cemetery was established in the 19th century. The last known Jewish burial in cemetery was in May 7, 1968 (Beila Esanu). The unlandmarked Conservative cemetery is 1.5 km from the congregation that used it.
The isolated rural (agricultural) flat land has no sign or marker. Reached by crossing private property, access is open with permission. A continuous masonry wall and a gate that locks surround. The pre- and post-WWII size is 130-m X 70 m. 500 - 5,000 gravestones are visible in the cemetery. 500 to 5,000 tombstones are visible. 1 to 20 are not in original location. More than 75% are toppled or broken. Vegetation overgrowth in the cemetery is not a problem. Water drainage is good all year.
Tombstones date from the 19th through the 20th century. The marble, limestone, and sandstone tombstones are rough stones or boulders, flat shaped stones, finely smoothed and inscribed stones, and flat stones with carved relief decoration. Some have portraits on stones. Inscriptions are in Hebrew and Romanian.
The national Jewish community owns the cemetery property used for agricultural purposes. Adjacent properties are agricultural and residential. Compared to 1939, the cemetery boundaries enclose the same area. Rarely, private visitors (Jewish or non-Jewish) stop. The never vandalized cemetery has no maintenance from the regular unpaid caretaker. No structures.
Weather erosion and vegetation are slight threats.
Lucian Nastasa, Clinicilor str., no. 19, Cluj, Romania, tel. 064/190107. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. completed the survey on July 26, 2000 using the following documentation:
- Leonida Colescu, Analiza rezultatelor recensamîntului general al populatiei Romaniei de la 1899, cu o prefată de Sabin Manuila, Bucuresti, Institutul de statistica, 1944.
- I.M. Dinescu, Fiii neamului de la 1859 la 1915. Statistica sociala pe întelesul tuturora, Iasi, Institutul de Arte Grafice N.V.Stefaniu, 1920.
- Pinkas Hakehillot, Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities Romania, I-II, Jerusalem, 1980.
- Kara, Inscriptii funerare ebraice din judetul Botosani, în "Memoria Antiquitatis", II, 1970, p. 523-531.
- George I. Lahovari, Marele dictionar geografic al Romaniei, 5 vol., Bucuresti, Edit.Socec, 1899.
- Marius Mircu, Pogromurile din Bucovina si Dorohoi, Bucuresti, Edit.Glob, 1945.
- E. Schwarzfeld, Din istoria evreilor: împopularea, reîmpopularea si întemeierea tîrgurilor si tîrgusoarelor în Moldova, Bucuresti, 1894.
- N. Sutu, Notiti statistice asupra Moldaviei, Iasi, 1852.
He visited July 23, 2000 and interviewed Badarau Ion, com. Sulita, Botosani judet. [June 2002]
[UPDATE] Photos by Charles Burns [April 2016]