ZAKA volunteers flew from Israel after Thai authorities gave the Jewish community just days to evacuate the site, with four graves transferred to a new burial plot under Jewish law
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Four graves from a Jewish cemetery near Bangkok were relocated Tuesday after Thai authorities ordered the burial ground cleared within just a few days.
The operation was carried out by ZAKA volunteers from Israel together with Chabad rabbis and members of Thailand’s Jewish community, with organizers saying every effort was made to preserve the dignity of the dead and comply with Jewish law.
The cemetery was purchased about five years ago by Bangkok’s Jewish community and Chabad. In recent months, however, difficulties emerged with local authorities after they declined to renew the site’s burial permit.
On Friday morning, shortly before Rosh Hashanah, Chabad representatives received a letter from the regional governor ordering the cemetery evacuated by Tuesday. At the time, four graves were located there.
Because of the short deadline, Rabbi Nechemia Wilhelm, the Chabad emissary in Bangkok, contacted ZAKA operations deputy director Chaim Weingarten and asked the organization to assist with the transfer.
(Photo: ZAKA)
The deceased were reburied
(Photo: ZAKA)
The graves were designated for relocation to a new burial plot purchased by Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor, chief rabbi of Thailand’s Jewish community.
Immediately after Rosh Hashanah ended, and following consultations with ZAKA rabbis, Weingarten and ZAKA volunteer Beraleh Yaakovovitz flew to Bangkok.
They were joined Tuesday by Chabad rabbis and members of the local Jewish community, including Kantor, Wilhelm, Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi, Yossi Goldberg and Davidi Haddad.
After hours of complex work, all four graves were transferred intact to the new burial plot.
Organizers said the operation was conducted in accordance with Jewish burial law and with particular attention to preserving the dignity of the deceased.
“When I received the request on the eve of Rosh Hashanah and understood the urgency, it was clear to us that ZAKA would do whatever was necessary to preserve the dignity of the dead,” Weingarten said.
“Immediately after Rosh Hashanah ended, we left for Bangkok after consulting the organization’s rabbis. Today, with the help of Chabad rabbis and members of the local community, we completed the complex mission and brought the deceased to their final resting place with the dignity they deserve.”
Kantor described the case as “a very complex and sensitive event that we were required to handle within an extremely short time.”
“The cooperation and dedication made it possible to complete the transfer of the graves with dignity, sensitivity and in accordance with Jewish law,” he said.