The Jewish Exponent
November 11, 2010
Philadelphia PA
Cemetery Ad Stirs Up a Stinging Controversy
Although he sensed potential provocation, the general manager of a local Jewish cemetery said he never imagined that his full-page advertisement touting cremation as an alternative to burial would cause such a backlash.
“Did you know … Jewish people are being cremated?” blared the banner in the full-page advertisement for Roosevelt Memorial Park in Trevose in the Oct. 28 issue of the Jewish Exponent.
… according to Samuel Brodsky, a supervisor at Joseph Levine & Sons, the decision is often “strictly economic. Cremation is appreciably less expensive.”
Cremation can cost as little as $1,000. While costs for traditional burial vary widely, it routinely runs upward of $10,000.
EXCERPT FROM AD:
“Did you know … Jewish people are being cremated?”
Fact: 13% of all Jewish deaths in the Philadelphia metropolitan area have chosen cremation.
Read the full article in The Jewish Exponent
