A joint delegation of ZAKA volunteers, Chabad rabbonim and members of Thailand’s Jewish community relocated four kevorim from a cemetery near Bangkok on Tuesday after local authorities ordered the site cleared within days.

The cemetery was purchased approximately five years ago, but the regional governor refused to renew its burial license and issued an ultimatum requiring the kevorim to be removed.

The order arrived on Friday morning, Erev Rosh Hashanah, giving the Jewish community until Tuesday to complete the relocation. Due to the tight deadline, Bangkok Chabad shaliach Rabbi Nechemia Wilhelm contacted ZAKA Operations Vice President Chaim Weingarten for urgent assistance.

Immediately after Yom Tov, and following consultations with the organization’s rabbonim, Weingarten and ZAKA volunteer Berale Yaakovowitz flew from Israel to Thailand.

The four kevorim were transferred intact and in strict accordance with halacha to a new burial plot purchased by Thailand’s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor. Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi, Yossi Goldberg and Davidi Hadad also assisted with the complex operation.

“When I received the request on Erev Rosh Hashanah and understood the urgency, it was clear that ZAKA would do everything necessary to preserve the dignity of the niftarim,” Weingarten said following the mission.

“Immediately after Yom Tov, we left for Bangkok after consulting with the organization’s rabbonim. Today, with the assistance of Chabad rabbonim and members of the local community, we completed the complicated mission and brought the niftarim to their final resting place with the dignity they deserve.”

Rabbi Kantor said the complex and sensitive operation had to be completed within an extremely short period.

“We thank ZAKA and its members, who immediately answered the call and came from Israel to assist us,” he said. “Their cooperation and dedication made it possible to complete the relocation with dignity, sensitivity and in accordance with halacha.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)