JCAM is a non-profit Jewish cemetery association that owns and manages over 100 Jewish cemeteries in the Greater Boston area. We strive to:
- Ensure the management of Jewish cemeteries in MA
- Provide for the perpetual maintenance and security of Jewish cemeteries
- Promote joint planning and coordination of services among its members
- Prevent further abandonment of Jewish cemeteries
- Rehabilitate and maintain abandoned Jewish cemeteries
We are also the caretakers of the history of the Jewish communities throughout Massachusetts; teaching and enlightening the community on the importance and historical significance of our cemeteries through community programming, outreach and events.
JCAM also undertakes historic preservation projects on our cemeteries, like the Ohabei Shalom Chapel Project in East Boston that is undergoing restoration. The 1903 Chapel sits on the grounds of the first Jewish cemetery in Massachusetts (1844) and is listed on the Nat’l Register of Historic Places. The chapel project, which began in 2006, will transform the oldest Jewish mortuary in the state into the East Boston Immigration Center that will catalog and tell the story of immigrant Jews, Italians and Irish who came through the Port of Boston in the late 1800s. The exterior restoration has been completed and we are currently seeking funding for the interior work.
In addition, JCAM’s extensive, computerized database which houses the records of previously owned, independent or managed cemeteries, provides a practical and historical record of Jews buried in the Greater Boston area. Our archive has become a valuable genealogical resource for people worldwide.
