Back in 2003 it was easy to see that a big mistake was being constructed on Highway 40. I knew the $60 million Golden Palace on the Hill, “The Cedars at the JCA,” was a mistake. It was a no brainer.

The old facility, the Jewish Center for Aged, just needed to be updated and renovated. It did not take a CFO to know that the The Cedars at the JCA would never be able to sustain itself. It had street names and beautiful artwork. Ironically the administrative offices were so far from the residents that you would have needed a wheelchair to get to their offices.

We all turned a blind eye. Who cares as long as it does not affect us, right? Well it does. Judaism teaches us “do not forsake the old.” St. Louis’ Jewish Olds Folks home has offered our Jewish senior citizens in need a facility with a Jewish character since at least 1907. Oh, but with the recent sale, the Cedars at the JCA will retain its Jewish character for at least three years. That’s comforting.

The board members who made this decision and the rest of us who turned a blind eye are all to blame. No one plans to end up in a nursing home, but the Jewish community has always taken care of its own. Not anymore. There are very few Jews left there anyway. Wonder why?

Sad…it should have never been built.

Faith Schwartz Comensky, Creve Coeur