The Jewish community in Glasgow, Scotland is seeking Jews worldwide who have Scottish ancestors and/or a connection to the Scottish Jewish community to help in the Glasgow Jewish Cemeteries Restoration Project.

According to the project’s co-chairman David Links, Glasgow’s Jewish cemeteries are in desperate need of renovation.

“Our audacious plan is to raise a million pounds (about $1.5 million) which will be spent on transformational works to reset tombstones, restore and replace kerbs, lairs and paths,” says Links. “We invite descendants of Glaswegian Jews to visit our website: www.glasgowhebrewburialsociety.org, where there are details of the cemeteries and a brochure which summarises the appeal.”

As a result of aliyah, emigration and movement within the UK, the Jewish community in Glasgow has plummeted from about 15,000 some 50 years ago to less than 4,000 now and is falling every year.

Says project co-chairman Professor Alan Shenkin: “The website carries details of all 11,000 tombstones in our cemeteries, with an easy search facility allowing individuals anywhere in the world to search for members of their family and to see photographs of the stones.”

For more information: appeals@glasgowhebrewburialsociety.org.