JCRPNA Mission: To Reclaim Abandoned and Distressed Jewish Cemeteries in North America
The Jewish Cemetery Renewal Project North America (JCRPNA), working through community-based partnerships, restores abandoned or neglected Jewish cemeteries across the United States and Canada in an effort to identify and review the needs of these sites.
Sadly, as in in Europe and other parts of the world, hundreds of Jewish cemeteries in North America have been abandoned or neglected. These cemeteries have thick, overgrown vegetation, overturned headstones, sometimes from neglect and sometimes from vandalism or both. The vast majority of these cemeteries are along the Eastern seaboard, but the problem exists in all parts the country such as Arizona.
Several factors have brought these cemeteries to this state of decline including: 1) Jewish migration; 2) the collapse of synagogues or local cemetery associations; 2) financial hardships; or 3) mismanagement of perpetual care funds.
The JCRPNA’s program works in three areas:
- Identify and assess the damage to cemeteries
- Raise awareness and educate the Jewish community about this issue
- Act – with local communities – to create a restoration plan and raise funds to appropriately honor the legacy of those who came before us.
For More information contact: info@jcrpna.org
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