Rabbi Israel Meir Gabbai, shlita, established Agudas Ohalei Tzadikim in 1989, immediately after the fall of the Iron Curtain, with the goal of locating, restoring and preserving Jewish cemeteries and kivrei tzadikim throughout Eastern Europe.  These burial sites were desecrated, vandalized and hidden during the Communist regime.  Since then, for the last 20 years, Rabbi Gabbai has been traversing the world, journeying through the remains of thousands of years of Jewish life in exile and dedicating his life to rescuing Jewish cemeteries.  He has traveled throughout the world but has focused particularly in Eastern Europe, where conditions of Jewish cemeteries are desperate and the danger stands out dramatically.

 

Rabbi Gabbai and Agudas Ohalei Tzadikim, with meager resources and the donations of private individuals who felt the anguish of the deceased, have systematically rescued cemetery after cemetery, grave after grave, and do not stop for a moment.  Since its founding, the organization has refurbished hundreds of graves and scores of cemeteries, as well as establishing and maintaining guest houses adjacent to kivrei tzadikim. 

 

Agudas Ohalei Tzadikim is funded solely through private donations.