When the Jewish community of Thailand’s original cemetery- established through a royal land grant by King Rama IV- neared capacity after 30 years of use in 2021, the community purchased new land in the Chachoengsao area outside Bangkok for a new Jewish cemetery and received the standard government permit, granted for a three-year term, during which four burials took place.
Those four graves had to be relocated from the cemetery when the permit was not renewed. The permit renewal denial came amid rising Thai frustration with foreigners generally, including over visa overstays and land regulations skirted by non-citizens. Bangkok has tightened enforcement on foreign land use in recent years and shortened visa-free stays for visitors of many nationalities.
Nirvana Memorial Park agreed to dedicate a new Jewish burial section in a more aesthetic location, and the four deceased members of the community were returned to their eternal rest.
“As painful as this relocation is, the most important thing is we follow the law of the land. If, unbeknownst to us, we had purchased a cemetery that didn’t meet the criteria, we’re very happy to have found an alternative and beautiful location,” said Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor, director of Chabad of Thailand since 1993 and the country’s resident chief rabbi.
The importance of a proper burial in Jewish law and tradition cannot be underestimated. “For dust you are, and to dust you will return,” G‑d told Adam, the first human being. Chabad.org’s extensive section on Death and Mourning quotes King Solomon, who said: “And the earth returns to the land as it was, and the spirit returns to G‑d, who gave it.”
Taking part in a Jewish burial is considered a mitzvah of the highest order; Maimonides explains that even the High Priest was required to personally bury a met mitzvah, an abandoned Jewish body with no one else to attend to it.
A ZAKA team flew in from Israel to carry out the transfer, handling every step “with the utmost sensitivity, professionalism, and full accordance with Halacha,” said Kantor.
A Century of Jewish Life
Jewish life in Thailand stretches back centuries, from merchants recorded in the Kingdom of Ayutthaya in 1601 to German Jewish refugees admitted in the 1930s and the formal establishment of the Jewish Association of Thailand in 1964.
Kantor and his wife, Nechama, established Chabad of Thailand in Bangkok more than three decades ago as a Jewish religious and community organization. In the years since, Chabad of Thailand has grown into a massive social, humanitarian, and community welfare organization, serving the estimated 300,000 Israeli travelers who pass through Thailand each year, who drive a large part of the local economy, as well as local residents throughout the country.
Chabad acted as a front-line humanitarian responder during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, providing search-and-rescue support, emergency food, supplies, and medical dispatch assistance. During last year’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake, Chabad of Thailand mobilized rapidly as a critical communications hub and relief center for tourists and locals.
“We’re very proud of our wonderful relationship and cooperation with the authorities and people of Thailand and we look forward to building on the strong bond that is Jewish-Thai relationship,” said Rabbi Kantor.
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