In what appears to be another step by Thailand against Jews, the country's deputy interior minister has ordered local authorities to exhume three Jewish bodies from a Jewish cemetery in Chachoengsao province after it emerged that the cemetery’s operating license had expired.
Thai media reported that Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee visited the Jewish cemetery in Bang Khla on Monday and afterward ordered the removal of three Jewish bodies buried at the site. He said the three were buried after the cemetery’s license had expired, without local authorities being notified. He said provincial authorities and the provincial governor would issue a formal written order requiring the remains to be transferred.
The Jewish cemetery in Thailand
(Photo: jewishthailand website)
A fourth deceased person reportedly was buried while the license was still valid, and the deputy minister said that burial was carried out legally. However, he instructed district officials to review the relevant legislation and made clear that this grave would also be removed if any violation is found.
The deputy minister also ordered a broader review of cemetery licenses across the country, including sites in Bangkok’s Charoen Krung neighborhood. The findings are expected within one to two days.
According to the deputy minister, the operator of the cemetery in Bang Khla applied for a permit in 2021 and received a license that year. After the license expired in 2023, the operator sought to renew it. An inspection by the district chief and relevant officials found that construction at the site did not meet legal standards, including requirements concerning distance from roads and tunnels. The license was therefore not renewed.
An appeal filed by the operator with the interior minister at the time was also rejected. The operator then petitioned the Administrative Court, where the proceedings are still pending.
“We have had a cemetery in Bangkok for nearly 30 years," Rabbi Nechemya Wilhelm, the Chabad emissary in Bangkok, said. "Unfortunately, it is almost full, so about five years ago we bought land outside the city that would be suitable for burial. We bought the land with the designation of a cemetery, and apparently the seller made sure everything was in order at the time. After about three years, we were told the land did not meet cemetery standards and we filed an appeal, because people have not been buried for three years. Once we received a cemetery license, it should be permanent.”
Rabbi Wilhelm linked the decision by the deputy minister to recent anti-Israel incidents in Thailand. “Unfortunately, right now, because of the wave of incidents against Israelis and Jews, they are looking into every place where there is an issue, and that is how they reached this as well. We have always acted according to the law, and in this matter too we will act according to the law. If we are forced to move the bodies, we will do so in accordance with Jewish law.”