Har Jehuda Cemetery
{{Short description|Jewish cemetery in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania}}
{{Infobox cemetery
| name = Har Jehuda Cemetery
| native_name = בית קברות הר יהודה
| native_name_lang = he
| image = File:Har judo.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Entrance sign for Har Jehuda Cemetery
| pushpin map = Pennsylvania
| map_type =
| map_size =
| map_caption = Location of Har Jehuda within Pennsylvania
| mapframe =
| established =
| abandoned = No
| location = Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
| country = United States
| coordinates = {{coord|39.96390|N|75.29330|W}}
| type = Jewish
| style =
| owner = Larry Maskowitz (1981-present)
| size = 27 acres
| graves = 20,000+
| interments =
| cremations =
| leases =
| website = {{URL|http://www.harjehuda.com/}}
| findagraveid = 45030
| politicalgeo =
| footnotes =
| nrhp =
| embedded =
}}
Har Jehuda Cemetery ({{langx|he|בית קברות הר יהודה}}), or Har Judo for short, is a Jewish cemetery located in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It is currently home to more than 20,000 burials. It is located along Naylor's Run Creek along the border between Upper Darby and Haverford Townships.{{Cite book |last=Programming |first=Pennsylvania Bureau of Resources |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WLRQAAAAYAAJ |title=The State Water Plan |publisher=The Bureau |year=1983 |pages=274 |language=en}} It was the first Jewish cemetery in the Philadelphia area to be located West of the city boundaries.{{Cite web |title=Har Jehuda Cemetery and Mausoleum, Upper Darby, PA |url=https://www.bucksgen.org/index.php?option=com_chronoforms5&chronoform=BCGSCemetery&token=3001 |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=Bucks County Genealogical Society}} It was also the first nonprofit of its kind to be established for the poor, Eastern European Jewish population in Southern Philadelphia.{{Cite book |last=Meyers |first=Allen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NNWi5MGrAMsC |title=The Jewish Community of South Philadelphia |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-7385-4955-2 |pages=34 |language=en}}
History
Har Jehuda was originally founded as Independent Chevra Kadisha Burial Society in 1893. In 1902, the organization established Har Jehuda Cemetery in Upper Darby at its now-current location.{{Cite web |title=Collection: Har Jehuda Cemetery (Upper Darby, Pa.) Records {{!}} Temple University ArchivesSpace |url=https://scrcarchivesspace.temple.edu/repositories/4/resources/456 |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=scrcarchivesspace.temple.edu}} Julius Moskowitz, the founder of the cemetery,{{Cite web |last=Nickels|first=Thom |date=2024-02-19 |title=Cemeteries are for the living, too. |url=https://broadandliberty.com/2024/02/19/thom-nickels-cemeteries-are-for-the-living-too/ |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=Broad + Liberty |language=en}} passed the cemetery to his daughter-in-law Anne Moskowitz following his death, and it is currently owned by Anne’s son, Larry.{{Cite web |last=Tarlecki |first=Christine |date=2021-01-15 |title=Har Jehuda Cemetery in Neighboring Delaware County Facing Hard Times as Business Declines |url=https://montco.today/2021/01/har-jehuda-cemetery-in-upper-darby-facing-hard-times-as-business-declines/ |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=MONTCO.Today |language=en-US}}
Controversy ensued in 1913 when Har Jehuda’s holdings at Chevra Kadisha’s Har Hasetim cemetery were sold to a developer, and over 6,000 bodies were burned for the construction of new housing.{{Cite web |last=Sukonik |first=Neil |date=2019-12-31 |title=Jewish Cemetery In Gladwyne Has A Storied Past |url=https://thisislowermerion.com/jewish-cemetery-in-gladwyne-has-a-storied-past/ |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=This Is Lower Merion And Narberth |language=en-US}} In 1995, after plans to bulldoze the cemetery for its valuable real estate, families of those buried in the cemetery along with many local synagogues filed an injunction that prevented the destruction of many of the graves.{{Cite news |last=Avery |first=Ron |date=19 Apr 1995 |title=A too-valuable resting place? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/187138207 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 Sep 2024 |work=Philadelphia Daily News |pages=12 |language=en}}
Up until the 1950s, the cemetery suffered from many instances of high flooding due to its location at the bottom of hills and its confluence with Naylor’s Run.{{Cite book |last=Administration |first=United States Federal Insurance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ltpSMcJWlD4C |title=Flood Insurance Study: Township of Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, Delaware County |publisher=Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Insurance Administration |year=1977 |pages=9 |language=en}} This issue has largely been solved due to construction and city planning to prevent catastrophic flooding
In June of 1988, a 9-year-old girl was raped within the boundaries of the cemetery.{{Cite news |date=30 Jun 1998 |title=Police blotter: Upper Darby |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/169391558 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 Sep 2024 |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=178 |language=en}}
Burial controversies
The son of the Messianic Jewish leader Martin Chernoff attempted to have his father buried in Har Jehuda in 1985,{{Cite news |last=Ryeskiy|first=K.H.|date=11 Nov 1985 |title=Why Jewish Cemetery Wouldn't Bury messianic Leader |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/186027907 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 Sep 2024 |work=Philadelphia Daily News |pages=40 |language=en}} and following the delivery of his body, the cemetery denied the interment, saying that the cemetery was “for burial of people of the Jewish faith.”{{Cite news |last=Schaffer |first=Michael D. |date=30 Oct 1985 |title=Messianic leader in city is denied Jewish burial |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/173645286 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 Sep 2024 |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |pages=25 |language=en}}
In 1997, Sherry Barone, a lesbian woman, won a federal lawsuit against the cemetery, which allowed her to bury her partner with an epitaph indicating their relationship.{{Cite web |title=Lambda Wins Agreement for Headstone at Lesbian's Unmarked Grave |url=https://legacy.lambdalegal.org/news/ny_19970905_lambda-wins-agreement-for-headstone-at-lesbians-grave |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=Lambda Legal Legacy |language=en}} The then-owner of the cemetery, Ann Moskowitz, claimed that there had never been an issue with the life partner epitaph, and that they had allegedly been going by the wishes of the deceased’s parents.{{Cite news |last=Wisenberg Brin |first=Dinah |date=12 Sep 1997 |title=Cemetery settles over headstone |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/879725592 |url-access=subscription |access-date=1 Sep 2024 |work=Seattle Gay News |pages=25 |language=en}}
Current state
Much of Har Jehuda has fallen into disrepair due to a lack of modern burials in the cemetery, causing a deflating budget for maintenance of the existing graves and surrounding land.{{Cite web |last=Bjorkgren |first=David |date=2021-01-16 |title=Har Jehuda Cemetery in Upper Darby Facing Hard Times as Business Declines |url=https://delco.today/2021/01/har-jehuda-cemetery-in-upper-darby-facing-hard-times-as-business-declines/ |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=DELCO.Today |language=en-US}} 2022 saw efforts by volunteer groups and a nonprofit to help restore dilapidated parts of the cemetery and to keep other parts of the cemetery in working order, concurrent with work to Har Nebo Cemetery in Philadelphia.{{Cite news |last=Rogelberg |first=Sasha |date=30 Nov 2022 |title=Friends of Jewish Cemeteries Completes Second Phase of Restoration Project |url=https://www.jewishexponent.com/friends-of-jewish-cemeteries-completes-second-phase-of-restoration-project/ |access-date=1 Sep 2024 |work=Jewish Exponent}}