DAKAR, Senegal — After years of careful restoration, two 19th century Jewish cemeteries were rededicated in Cape Verde on Tuesday, part of an effort financed by the Moroccan king to preserve the archipelago’s cultural heritage. The first wave of Jewish immigrants arrived in Cape Verde in the 15th and 16th centuries, fleeing persecution from Christians in Spain and Portugal. The burial grounds have been restored through a partnership between the local government and the Cape Verde Jewish Heritage Project, a non-for-profit founded in 2007. Two other cemeteries, also on Cape Verde, were similarly restored in 2013 using a donation of some $100,000 from the king, Castiel said. “This is a project from a Cape Verdean Jewish organization that is supported by a Muslim country, Morocco, in a Christian country, Cape Verde,” said Carlos Wahnon Veiga, Cape Verde’s former prime minister and current ambassador to the United States.

Source: Washington Post November 06, 2018 18:05 UTC