Har Nebo Cemetery

Har Nebo Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery in the Oxford Circle neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in 1890, it is the oldest privately owned Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia. It is named for Mount Nebo, a Moabite mountain mentioned as the place where Moses died in the Hebrew Bible on the other side the Jordan River.

Har Nebo Cemetery
Details
Established	1890[1]
Location	6061 Oxford Avenue Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Country	United States
Coordinates	40°02′21″N 75°05′12″W
Type	private
Size	16 acres (65,000 m2)[1]
No. of graves	>35,000[2]
Find a Grave	Har Nebo Cemetery

History

The organization was established in 1890 by Isaac Levy as the Har Nebo Cemetery Company.^[3] That October, the company was granted permission for the construction of the physical cemetery,^[4] located in the 23rd Ward of Philadelphia (rural Frankford).^[5] It was built on land belonging to deceased David Williams.^[6] Burials date back as far as 1892.^[7] In 1906, the boundaries of the cemetery were extended further into undeveloped sections of the 35th Ward.^[8] This was due to an outbreak of Smallpox in the area.^[3] In 1924, the widening of Devereaux Avenue caused territory losses for the cemetery.^[9]

In 1955, 32 stones were damaged when suspected juvenile deliquents went on a spree of valdalism across the cemetery.^[10] In 1987, a 17-year-old girl was raped at knifepoint on the property.^[11]

Modern issues

A photograph depicting the sunken and overturned gravestones in Har Nebo, June 2022

Har Nebo Cemetery is recognized as a cemetery that is, for the most part, in severe disrepair. Many gravestones are knocked over, much of the ground is unkempt, and the cemetery is often inaccessible.^[12] A restoration has been undertaken since 2021 by Friends of Jewish Cemeteries to take ownership of and restore the cemetery to its previous condition.^{[2][13][14][15]}

The cemetery also administers Mount Carmel Cemetery.^[16]

Notable interments

• David Cohen, Philadelphia City Councilman^[17]
• Harry Gold (1910–1972), atomic spy^[18][17]
• Eddie Gottlieb (1898–1979), American professional basketball coach and team owner^[17]
• Samuel Gross (1891–1934), Medal of Honor recipient^[17]
• Stan Hochman (1928–2015), sportswriter^[17]
• Adolph Hirschberg (1889–1943, American labor leader^[19]