# Palm trees on Jewish headstones? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2011, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-trees-on-jewish-headstones/576230 "2011-03-28T09:02:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![phantom\_lamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@phantom\_lamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phantom_lamb)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-trees-on-jewish-headstones/576230/1 "2011-03-28T09:02:49Z")
My grandma visited a Jewish cemetary the other day and asked me why so many of the headstones had engraved palm trees on them (but some didn’t). I had no idea. Anyone know what the palm trees symbolize? I promised her the internet would know. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-trees-on-jewish-headstones/576230/2 "2011-03-28T09:26:05Z")
Well, date palms are one of the [Seven Species](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Species), so they’re somewhat important in Jewish culture; but I think that mainly, it’s just a traditional design element. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-trees-on-jewish-headstones/576230/3 "2011-03-28T11:42:46Z")
(I know it’s early in the thread, but I can’t help myself.) That symbol is of the palm in Gilead, an important image for persons who served in the Royal Navy. (I’ll go away now and wait for a real answer.) ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-trees-on-jewish-headstones/576230/4 "2011-03-28T12:11:03Z")
This is just a guess, that it comes from the quote in Psalms 92:13: “A righteous person will flourish like a date-palm, grow tall like a cedar in Lebanon.” I have no grounds for this other than the assumption that it must be some sort of biblical reference at base. This website: [http://www.everlifememorials.com/v/headstones/cemetery-symbolism.htm](http://www.everlifememorials.com/v/headstones/cemetery-symbolism.htm) says a palm tree on a symble represents “Spiritual victory, success, eternal peace, a symbol of Christ’s victory of death as associated with Easter.” Seems unlikely for a Jewish tombstone, but it is possible that they just copied a popular fad symbol without knowing the meaning. That has happened before. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-trees-on-jewish-headstones/576230/5 "2011-03-28T12:17:46Z")
Well, **C K** , Christianity itself acquired the symbology for the palm from Judaism, so if that was the case it would be merely a recovery. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-trees-on-jewish-headstones/576230/6 "2011-03-28T20:21:06Z")
Where was this? It’s not a motif I’ve seen in the Jewish cemeteries I’ve visited, and I’d be curious to know where it’s used. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-trees-on-jewish-headstones/576230/7 "2011-03-28T20:34:52Z")
Perhaps the OP is too new to this MB to realize that he has broken the tradition of only asking questions about Judaism during the Sabbath (Israeli time). ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-trees-on-jewish-headstones/576230/8 "2011-03-29T02:30:54Z")
Most of the dead Jews I know spent some of their last decade in… Florida! Where there are… BINGO! Palm trees! Q-E-frickin’-D! ---
**Author:** ![phantom\_lamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@phantom\_lamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phantom_lamb)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palm-trees-on-jewish-headstones/576230/9 "2011-03-29T08:29:31Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > Where was this? It’s not a motif I’ve seen in the Jewish cemeteries I’ve visited, and I’d be curious to know where it’s used. It’s in Belgrade, Serbia. 🙂