Friends of Har Jehuda Cemetery

Welcome to Friends of Har Jehuda Cemetery!

Our goal is to raise funds to support the maintenance and regular landscaping of the cemetery. Our initial focus is the maintenance of congregational plots including Adath Israel, Beth El Ner Tamid, and Beth Israel. In addition, we aim to sponsor a targeted cleanup project every year, such as the reclamation of a historical section from poison ivy that we achieved this spring.

If you would like to contribute, please scroll to the bottom of this page and follow the steps on how to make a donation. Thank you!

Har Jehuda is a historic Jewish cemetery in Delaware County, the first Jewish cemetery to be built west of Philadelphia. Founded in the 1890s as a nonprofit, Har Jehuda is open to Jews from all denominations and backgrounds, regardless of affiliation. The 27 acres hold more than 20,000 graves, and represent Jewish families from throughout the region.

Photo credit: Kevin S. Nash

In recent years, the budget of the cemetery has fallen short and the manager has cut back on groundskeeping staff. Weeds, invasive plants, and saplings have overtaken the grounds. The front wall needs repair in multiple locations. Dozens of gravestones have fallen and have not been recemented to their foundations.

Photo credit: Kevin S. Nash

Since 2021, a group of local volunteers has organized grassroots cleanups. Click here for a calendar of upcoming cleanup dates. In partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, the Kehillah of Delaware County, and local synagogues such as Beth Israel, Adath Israel, and Beth El Ner Tamid (who all have community synagogue plots in the cemetery), and alongside families with loved ones buried here, we have learned that people of all ages are committed to the preservation of this beautiful and neglected site.

Photo credit: Shira Alberts (Mitzvah Day - April 23, 2023)

Your support of this project will enable us to maintain regular landscaping of our congregational plots (Beth Israel, Adath Israel, and Beth El Ner Tamid) as well as address other issues in need of maintenance and repair for the cemetery.

With our first donations from Fall 2023, we were already able to remove poison ivy vines from a historic section of the cemetery.

Photo credit: Shira Alberts

For more information, or if you would like to join our committee, please email fhjc@googlegroups.com. We would love to have your ideas and energy!

To donate, please fill out the form below with your information and the amount you would like to contribute.

Your donation of $100 will sponsor an entire week of grass cutting, weed whacking, and routine maintenance for our congregational plots.
Your donation of $200 will sponsor a week for our congregational plots, plus contribute to a targeted project such as repairing broken gravestones, or removing invasive weeds from the eastern edge of the cemetery.
Your donation of $3600 will sponsor an entire year of grass cutting, weed whacking, and routine maintenance of our congregational plots, enabling us to ensure the dignity and respect of this burial ground.

We welcome donations of any size for this project!

Thank you for your support!

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Thank you for your generous gift to Friends of Har Jehuda Cemetery.

Please note: this form only accepts online payment. If you would like to donate via check, please address it to "Congregation Beth Israel, 542 S. New Middletown Rd., Media, PA 19063", with a note indicating that it is for the Friends of Har Jehuda Fund. If you have any questions, please email officemanager@bethisraelmedia.org.