The body of a dead Holocaust survivor will be sent to Israel to be buried — instead of spending “eternity” next to her “bastard” ex-husband, a Manhattan judge ruled Tuesday.
Frieda Leszkowitz’s family feuded in court over her burial place after she died in July at age 87. Her sister Lucy Lipiner, who wanted to carry out Leszkowitz’s wishes to be buried in Israel, sued the woman’s estranged children David and Shelly after they secretly interred her in Queens.
But in a new ruling, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arlene Bluth ordered for Leszkowitz’s remains to be exhumed and flown to Israel — where she wanted to be buried all along.
“Ms. Leszkowitz did not want to spend eternity next to her ex-husband, ‘the bastard,’” the judge wrote. “The evidence shows that she wanted to be in Israel, near her parents and next to her sister.”
Bluth relied on testimony from family members and home health aides that showed David buried his mom in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Flushing next to his late dad “without undertaking any inquiry into her wishes and actively ignoring evidence of a recently purchased plot in Israel.”
The judge chided the son for not doing everything he could to carry out his mom’s final wishes.
“David’s actions evidence a complete disinterest in ascertaining the location of his mother’s desired final resting place,” Bluth wrote.
The two aides testified that Leszkowitz had a clear mind when she expressed to them a “clear desire” to be buried overseas — and that the sick woman told one of the helpers that her late ex-hubby treated her badly and was a “bastard,” court papers say.
Lipiner took care of her older sister Leszkowitz in her final days and was the executor of her estate, according to the papers.
The two had lived blocks away from each other in Manhattan, while David resides in Michigan and Shelly in Florida.
“This decision is not about who loved Ms. Leszkowitz more or whom she loved more when she was alive,” Bluth wrote.
The judge ordered that Leszkowitz’s remains be disinterred “as soon as possible” and flown to Israel, where the final resting place will be in the Eretz Hachaim Cemetery in Jerusalem.
“My clients are asking that their privacy be respected while they come to terms with the decision,” said Mitchell Rutkin, the attorney for David and Shelly. “Both my clients and I strongly disagree with Judge Bluth’s decision, which we believe is a significant departure from settled law in this area.”
Lipiner’s lawyer Gil Santamarina said the judge made the right move.
“It’s bittersweet because [Lipiner is] really happy that the judge came to the right conclusion, she’s very happy that her sister’s wishes are going to be honored but she also is, to a certain extent, heartbroken that there’s a family ripped apart over this.”