Jun 6, 2011

Buried In Someone Else's Grave

Someone Has Been Sitting In My Chair!
A woman in Kiryat Malachi went to the cemetery to pay a visit to her departed husband's grave. To her surprise she saw the grave adjacent to that of her husband was buried a women, despite the fact that she herself had purchased that plot. She had purchased the plot, for 4000 NIS, to be used at a future date, so she could be buried next to her husband.

Consider her shock to discover the plot she owns next to her husband is containing someone else!

Filed A Complaint
She right away complained to the religious council of the city, who is responsible for the cemetery, and received a wholly unsatisfactory response. She was told that 11 years ago there was a mess of the paperwork, and everything got messed up, including the plot registered under her name. Somehow they lost the registrar information of the plot and thought it was available.

The religious council offered her a different plot nearby, but she was not satisfied by the proposed solution. It was her plot and she expected to be buried next to her husband! She insists that they exhume the body and re-inter it in a different plot. She sued the religious council to that effect, along with for 50,000 NIS in damages.

Interestingly, the judge refused to come to a decision of removing the body without first having halachic permission to do so. Who says the courts are so liberal?

Both parties agreed that the Chief Rabbi, Rav Shlomo Amar, is acceptable to make such a decision, and whatever he says would be agreed upon by all sides.

They now have to go to Rav Amar and explain the case, and receive a judgement from him. After that they will bring his decision back to the court by the end of the month for the court's consideration and final decision. (source: Mynet)

Interesting
It must happen on occasions, but I find such cases fascinating. She is sticking to her guns, perhaps rightfully so. They are sticking to their guns, probably because of the seriousness of removing a body. It does not even say what the family of the buried woman think. And the judge wont decide without first hearing from a rav. Fascinating, while being the source of great distress for the parties involved of course.

5 comments:

  1. This also happened to a relative of mine. I think it happens more often than we would like to think, and the motivation may be financial gain rather than sloppy paperwork.

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  2. how did they end up resolving it in your relative's situation?

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  3. I don't understand. if she insists on exhuming a body (and will not suffice with financial compensation) and if there is a halachic basis for exhuming, then surely the body to be exhumed and reburied should be that of her husband.

    Why should the lady buried next to her husband be part of the equation at all?

    Your astute friend

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  4. she bought the plot that is being used by someone else. why exhume the husband? exhume the plot that was mistakenly used and save it for the wife.

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  5. It hasn't been resolved yet.

    First Anonymous

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