For about 30 years, a Jewish cemetery has been operating in Bangkok, serving the Jewish community in Thailand.
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In 2021, after the existing cemetery approached full capacity and out of a need to prepare for the coming years, the Jewish community purchased a large plot of land in the Chachoengsao area, near Bangkok - intended to serve as a Jewish cemetery.
The community has received all the necessary permits and licenses from the Thai authorities to operate the site as a cemetery. The license is granted for a period of three years, in accordance with the standard procedure in Thailand, according to which such licenses must be renewed every three years.
During the license period, four Jews were buried there.
At the end of the three years, in 2024, the community acted as required and submitted a request to renew the license, but this time the authorities did not approve the request. Following the decision, the community filed an appeal with the court, and the process is still awaiting a decision.
And so, on Friday morning - the eve of Rosh Hashanah, Chabad emissaries received a letter from the regional governor, demanding that the cemetery be vacated by Tuesday.
Due to the urgency, the Chabad emissary in Bangkok, Rabbi Nehemiah Wilhelm, contacted ZAKA's Deputy Director of Operations, Chaim Weingarten, and requested the organization's assistance in moving the graves to a new burial plot purchased by Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor, the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in Thailand.
Immediately after Shabbat, and after halachic consultation with ZAKA rabbis, Deputy Director of Operations Haim Weingarten and ZAKA volunteer Erla Yakubovitz left for Bangkok.
Today (Tuesday), a joint delegation of ZAKA, Chabad rabbis, and members of the Jewish community, including Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor, Rabbi Nehemiah Wilhelm, Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi, Yossi Goldberg, and Davidi Hadad, was at the site.
After hours of strenuous and sensitive work, while respecting the dignity of the deceased and the guidelines of Halacha, the four tombs were moved intact to their new resting place.
""Throughout all our years of activity in Thailand, we have been careful to act solely in accordance with Thai law, observing and respecting the laws of the country and its authorities, and cooperating with them," say Chabad emissaries in Thailand. "This is how we acted in this case as well: the place was purchased legally, activity there began only after receiving the necessary permits and licenses, and when the renewal request was not approved, we turned to the usual legal channels.
""Recently, amid the tensions and increased inspections on issues concerning Israelis in Thailand, the issue of the cemetery has also resurfaced. Since approval for the renewal of the license has not been granted in the past two years, we were required to remove the graves from the site.
""Today, about five years after the acquisition of the land, and with great sorrow and pain, the four graves were moved from the site. The transfer was carried out with the assistance of ZAKA personnel, with great sensitivity and with full observance of the dignity of the deceased and all the requirements of Jewish law.".
The graves were moved to a large, existing cemetery, where the community purchased several plots designated for Jewish burials, to ensure that the deceased were laid to rest with dignity and in an orderly place.
