Israel – Two Bills to Help ‘Chained’ Women Pass Law Committee

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    Photo ilusatration - A Jewish ultra orthodox man stands outside the Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem on March 01, 2011. Photo by Miriam Alster/FLASH90 Israel – Two bills aimed at alleviating the woes of women whose husbands refuse them divorces passed the Knesset Law Committee on Tuesday, ahead of votes in the plenum.

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    The proposed law put forth by MK Othniel Schneller of Kadima, initiated by the Mavoi Satum (Dead End) NGO, determines that rabbinic courts will have to hold a hearing on a recalcitrant husband within maximum 45 days from when the court ordered he afford his wife with a Jewish divorce (get). At that hearing, the rabbinic judges will debate issuing sanctions on the husband. The original proposal as composed by attorney Batya Kahana-Dror, director of Mavoi Satum, would have sanctions immediately applied if the husband refuses the court order to give the get.

    MK Zevulun Orlev’s bill would establish a mechanism to oversee the implementation of sanctions against recalcitrant husbands, issued by the rabbinic courts. The Habayit Heyehudi lawmaker’s bill would increase the efficiency of hearings on recalcitrant husbands and prevent women from being “chained” to them for years. Orlev’s bill was initiated by the Rackman Center for the Advancement of Women.

    Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kadari, director of the Rackman Center for the Advancement of Women at Bar-Ilan University and an expert in family law said that the concept was to give the rabbinical courts a system that will automatically convene a hearing when spouses are ordered to grant a divorce but the divorce has not yet happened.

    These two bills together will now make the rabbinic courts obligated to set a date for a divorce and if that does not happened it will pave the way for imposing sanctions on recalcitrant spouses.


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    15 Comments
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    cholent
    cholent
    12 years ago

    How about mandating each choson take shalom bayis classes and shiurim that help clueless young men learn how to live with and treat a bas yisroel.
    No rav should be mesader kidushin unless they took these classes just like they learn the calendar etc…
    It wouldn’t totally solve the problem but it would give the marriage hope.
    Moshiach zul shoin kumen.

    PrettyBoyFloyd
    PrettyBoyFloyd
    12 years ago

    It’s about freakin time!
    So many women out there at the mercy of they’re bum lowlife husband’s, who won’t give them a Get, while the Rabbi’s sit around scratching they’re beards cuz they have the power to do anything.

    DRE53
    DRE53
    12 years ago

    In my opinio, the kneset should stay out of this and not tell the rabonim what to do.

    12 years ago

    What about the women who won’t accept the get? What about the woman who wont show up in Bet Din?
    by the way- will this be like the NY get law where many rabbanim say it isnt a kosher get because it isn’t from his own free will?

    aypeebee
    aypeebee
    12 years ago

    Perhaps “realistic” will tell us what the Rabbanim have done so far to release Agunot.
    I think that the rule of law of the land will strenghen the hand of the Rabbanim and not weaken it.

    Anominous
    Anominous
    12 years ago

    What about having the women take classes that teach them how to be a normal, non-abusive spouse. I personally live in a relatively good marriage but I can easily see how a woman can destroy her marriage and cause tremendous pain to the husband. Think about being a normal husband, having a witch as a wife and then having to divorce her because she is abusive to you and then have to keep tied through financial obligations to her…It’s not easy and we can’t judge the men so quickly. And by witch, I don’t mean an ugly woman with a long nose, but can be a normal looking woman who gives a good impression to the outside world, but who has rotten middos or bad tendencies inside…

    Yes, we have to get the courts to force the husband to give a get, but we really don’t know the full story. Sometimes the woman should have never been allowed to marry again…

    Give classes to woman so that they learn that if it’s not working out, that they shouldn’t abuse the husband and should try to end the marriage in a peaceful way, so that she shouldn’t become Iguana, I mean Iguna.