London – A coroner’s office in London has come under fire after multiple families have complained about delayed Jewish burials.
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The London-based Jewish Chronicle reported Thursday that one woman made 210 phone calls to the St. Pancras coroner’s office in central London before being assured that her father would be buried four days after his death. According to both Jewish and Islamic law, bodies of the deceased must be buried as soon as possible after death, ideally on the same day.
Mary Hassell, the senior coroner at the St. Pancras office, told the family of Barry Davis last week that it would be two weeks before an autopsy could be performed and a funeral held. Several other similar cases have been reported.
Hassell also asserted in a letter to Jewish community leaders that “no death will be prioritized in any way over any other because of the religion of the deceased or family, either by coroner’s officers or coroners.”
She added in the letter that she would no longer allow Jewish bodies to be held at a local Jewish funeral home, instead of the mortuary, to enable shemirah, or guarding by fellow Jews, until their burials.
Trevor Asserson, an attorney representing Stamford Hill’s Adath Yisroel Burial Society, told the Jewish Chronicle that Hassell has “shown a total disregard for, or ignorance of, the law in deciding never to give priority to ‘faith deaths.’ Her conduct demonstrates what I consider to be a gross disregard for the religious sensibilities, as well as the legal rights, of the Muslim and Jewish families whose deceased relatives come under her control.”
In 2015, Hassell lost a judicial review brought by the family of an Orthodox Jewish woman. Hassell’s office insisted that the woman have an invasive autopsy, which is against Orthodox law. Last year Hassell was formally reprimanded by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office for publicizing a letter in which she alleged that she was being bullied by the Jewish community.
This attitude and conduct would never be tolerated in the NYC area; unfortunately, in smaller communities, there are times when the local coroners try to bully the family of the deceased. We should all remember that there was a time in Israel, not that long ago, when there were unauthorized autopsies being performed, without the consent of the families of the deceased. In fact, in June, 1969, there was a massive demonstration held at the Israeli consulate in NYC to protest that outrage. The Chassidim displayed posters all over town on subways, and in other public areas, to protest Israel’s autopsy policy, and to attend a large demonstration. The Israeli government was not happy with the protest, but they soon ended their illegal and idiotic policy of forced autopsies.
How long will that go on? Is there nothing that can be done?
Fire her. But this should be a joint Jewish-Muslim issue. I don’t understand how the two communities can’t get this woman re-assigned to Northern Scotland.
Fire her. There are groups that do communicate well with the imams here in Brooklyn and in NYC. I think that somebody should try.
THIS b…h has been doing this for years. About 2 months ago she held up a baby for burial for about 5 days. The baby did from sudden death. In Manchester the do an MRI but this witch does everything and anything to go against Moslems and Jews. Why is she still in control of the office. We ought to get a massive demonstration of Moslem and Jews from all over England and other Arab controls and Israel. We shall demonstrate until she quits