Our Ancestors Resting Place
We know the tomb locations of some of our ancestors in Jaffa, but unfortunately, the final resting places of many others remain unknown. Negib, Emile, and Michel Berouti are buried side by side in Jaffa’s Catholic Cemetery. Strangely, however, their brother Gabriel’s tomb does not appear to be nearby. At least, the volunteer who visited the cemetery to take photographs was unable find it in the vicinity. It’s possible that the inscription on his tomb has been damaged beyond recognition—though that seems unlikely, given that he was the last of his brothers to pass away.
Below are images of the tombs of Negib, Emile, and Michel Berouti, all available on FindAGrave.com. Negib’s son, Ito—who passed away at 34—was buried alongside his father. Michel’s headstone is marked with the inscription "Michel Berouti Family". However, The only person laid to rest with him is Rose Anhoury, his son George’s wife, who died in her mid-forties. The brothers obviously planned for their spouses and children to be buried with them, but the family’s forced exile during the Nakba made that impossible.
It is touching that the three brothers were buried side by side. In life, they were very close, and it seems they wished to remain that way after death. Fortunately, Negib’s tomb is relatively well-preserved. The same cannot be said for Emile and Michel’s tombs, which are in dire need of restoration. Unfortunately, maintaining these tombs is difficult when no descendants have lived in Jaffa for the past 76 years.
The image below shows the GPS location of the brothers’ tombs within the Latin cemetery.
A 1944 survey of Jaffa shows that the Latin Cemetery was built south of the city, where it still stands today. It was constructed early during the British Mandate period. This raises an important question: Where were our other ancestors and relatives buried before this cemetery was built?
Vital records from St. Anthony’s Latin Church indicate that those who passed away before the construction of the Jaffa Catholic Cemetery were buried in the Terra Sancta Cemetery, which was located directly across from St. Anthony’s Latin church. However, this cemetery no longer exists, as the new Latin Cemetery was built to replace it.
This leaves another unanswered question: Were all the graves, tombs, and coffins transferred to the new cemetery before the old one was demolished? Among those who died before the new cemetery was built are Nicolas Yacoub Berouti, his wife Marie Regina Farajallah, his brother Antoine, Julia Araktingi (Michel Berouti’s wife), and her teenage daughter Claire Berouti. To this day, we do not have an answer to this question.
