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Based on a recent news item wherein cemeteries have been refusing to inter the body of one of the (alleged) Boston bombers, I am curious whether a Jewish cemetery's operators are allowed to refuse to bury a Jew's body that is brought to them, and if so on what grounds? Meaning is it based on the fact that the person was a sinner, and if so which sins warrant this response? Are there other valid reasons?

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    Partial duplicate: judaism.stackexchange.com/q/21767
    – msh210 ♦
    Commented May 6, 2013 at 15:47
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    nikmasi, please edit this question so it's not a duplicate of the other. The other asks about non-Jews; maybe tailor this question so it's only about Jews?
    – msh210 ♦
    Commented May 6, 2013 at 15:47
  • @msh210 Perhaps the Jewish cemetery would need to erect a fence and make a separate portion for the non-Jew. That question asks if it is ever permitted to bury in the Jewish section.
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented May 6, 2013 at 15:48
  • The operators (who presumably may not be Jewish) or the cemetery itself (which is a Jewish institution)?
    – Charles Koppelman
    Commented May 6, 2013 at 15:58
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    I recommend expanding on the motivation. Instead of just having a context-free link that people have to click on and that may die someday, put a sentence explaining what you saw, and how it motivated the question at hand.
    – Isaac Moses ♦
    Commented May 6, 2013 at 16:00

3 Answers 3

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Per this article at theyeshivaworld.com the Rabanut denied a Jewish burial to a husband who kept his wife an Aguna.

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    At least now his wife is free!
    – Double AA ♦
    Commented May 23, 2013 at 20:03
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The reason I have seen a Jewish cemetery refuse Jewish corpes, is related to money. Specifically, if you don't pay for the plot, they will not bury you.

Since that is apparently a valid excuse, I am assuming that the answer is yes for any reason they want.

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    Sad to say, I have also heard of such a requirement in Jewish cemeteries. The plot must be paid for. Of course, at the same time, the Jewish community will see to it that a Jew who has died locally and does not own a plot and has no one to provide funds for a plot will receive a proper Jewish burial.
    – Dennis
    Commented May 14, 2013 at 19:45
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I know that the rules for internment at the New Montifiore Cemetery in Suffolk County, New York, require that all who buried there are Jewish under Jewish law, and they can deny burial to anyone not fitting that definition. Many other cemeteries share that position. Many cemeteries will also not bury an apostate Jew. I recall that a Toronto cemetery literally closed its doors on the hearse carrying the body of a Jewish-born Messianic Christian minister.

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