Jerusalem – Rabbinical Courts: Man Must OK Divorce To Get Out Of Prison

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    FILE - A Jewish ultra orthodox man stands outside the Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem on March 01, 2011. Photo by Miriam Alster/FLASH90Jerusalem – The supreme rabbinical court of appeals upheld a life sentence handed down to a man who has refused for ten years to give his wife a bill of divorce.

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    Meir Gorodetzki was imprisoned by the Jerusalem rabbinical court in 2001 for refusing to allow his wife to divorce him and has spent the last ten years in jail for his ongoing refusal to give his wife a bill of divorce, or get.

    Rabbinical courts have sole jurisdiction in matters pertaining to marriage and divorce, and have the ability to mete out punitive measures to convince a husband to give a wife a bill of divorce.

    According to Jewish law, a man must grant his wife a get of his own volition before they can be divorced. A woman cannot remarry unless she receives a bill of divorce.

    The maximum sentence that the rabbinical courts (beit din) can give for such an offense is ten years of imprisonment.

    Gorodetzki’s sentence was coming to an end but his wife requested that he not be released, fearing that he would flee the country and she would never be able to remarry.

    The Jerusalem rabbinical court ruled in May 2011 that Gorodetzki would remain in prison for as long as he continues to deny his wife a bill of divorce.

    Gorodetzki appealed the case to the rabbinical court of appeals, the Great Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem, claiming that the sentence infringed the country’s Basic Law of human dignity and freedom.

    In the hearing in November, details of which have only now been released, the panel of rabbinical judges – headed by rabbinical supreme court president Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger – ruled against Gorodetzki. In a creative interpretation of the law, the judges ruled that it is Gorodetzki himself who is restricting his own freedom, as well as that of his wife, and that he holds the keys to his personal liberty.

    “If the appellant is released from prison before he has divorced his wife, she will remain an agunah (a woman bound to her husband) for ever… Anyone who allows this would be considered as if they had shed her blood,” Metzger said during the hearing.

    “The keys to your release are in your own hands… through the fulfillment of your obligations as a Jew. Release your wife and then you will receive your freedom,” Metzger told him.

    Gorodetzki and his wife Tzviya Esther first married in 1983 in a civil marriage in the US but divorced in 1987. Gorodetzki emigrated to Israel in 1989, became Orthodox and joined the Chabad hassidic group. The couple then remarried in 1991.

    Gorodetzki’s wife subsequently accused him of physical violence and verbal abuse, and the Jerusalem rabbinical court ordered him to give his wife a get in December 1999.

    He refused to grant his wife the get and was imprisoned by the Jerusalem court in October 2001. Despite his incarceration, Gorodetzki continued to deny his wife a get and the court ordered additional measures be taken against him, including barring him from receiving visitors, letters or telephone calls (apart from with his lawyer); preventing him from receiving mehadrin (stringently kosher) food; two 90-day periods of solitary confinement; and barring him from buying food in the prison canteen. The court also instructed the prison to provide psychiatric treatment and denied a request by Gorodetzki for his children to be allowed to visit him.

    “We are very happy with this ruling and it sends a very strong message,” said Batya Kehana.

    However, it is a shame that these kinds of sanctions get used in so few cases. Instead, it needs to become the norm. In the majority of cases where husbands are sent to prison, they quickly give a get.

    She added that for cases with men that exhibit psychological pathologies who are prepared to sit in jail for extremely long periods rather than divorce their wives, the rabbinical courts should annul the marriage retroactively, based on the principle in Jewish law of “mistaken acquisition.” “If a man denies a woman her freedom, then he should have his own freedom denied,” she added.

    According to a recent study conducted by the Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women at Bar-Ilan University, punitive sanctions are imposed by rabbinical courts in only 1.5% of the cases in which they are applicable.

    Such measures include preventing a recalcitrant husband from traveling abroad, confiscating his driver’s license, being struck off from professional associations and imprisonment.


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    47 Comments
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    12 years ago

    I plead ignorance about the question of גט מעושה, but I must assume I’m not the first to think of it. As for a suggestion, I would vote against a jail sentence limited by any number of years, which is what led to the current impasse, and i applaud the rabbinate for extending his incarceration. I feel that the incarceration should be for life, that’s all. I read here the statistics about how few cases receive such sanctions. I’d be curious to read about the percentage of cases in which sanctions work. They seem to be ineffective in stopping Iran. Do they help with these רשעים?

    lbpss
    lbpss
    12 years ago

    If he is keeping her in prison of marriage by not giving a get then he should stay in prison and get a taste of his own medicine.

    Bigboy
    Bigboy
    12 years ago

    Good decision. Hope they lot him rot there until he gives the poor woman a get.

    12 years ago

    Ever wonder what she may have done? There must be some background to this….

    12 years ago

    Um, doesn’t this make it a “get not given out of own volition”?
    If they annul the marriage retroactively, what will that do to the children?
    If the maximum sentence is 10 years, how can they give him more?
    How can they change his sentence post-facto? That violates court procedure?!? He was sentenced to 10 years. He served his time. The end. Sentence him again, with a new trial, but he already served the punishment for his “crime”.

    12 years ago

    I think that they should reduce his food in half. It will speed things up. He’ll either want to give the Get, or she will go free after some time.

    Peter
    Peter
    12 years ago

    The court has made the just and right decision. They should do this more often to men who deny their wives a get.

    12 years ago

    Some points to consider:

    1] There’s hardly any parity between, on the one hand, physically incarcerating someone – putting them in a jail, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and on the other hand, refusing to give a get.

    2] The refuser is putting the spouse in a position of temptation to commit sins of illicit relations. The rabbinic court is responding by putting the refuser in a position of temptation to commit sins of illicit relations. Instead of solving the problem,they are amplifying the problem for klal yisroel.

    Were I punished with the burden of having to defend the refuser, I would feel obliged to ask a posek for permission to petition against the Israeli government in the EU or international court of human rights.

    The cruel joke would be on all of us if it turns out that the spouse has never really cared about sin and hasn’t felt a need for a get in order to satisfy the temptations.

    I wonder what originally motivated this refuser. I imagine the motivations have evolved and changed, but what was it originally, and how some wisdom applied at the beginning of this process might have ended in a quick peace.

    That answer could potentially save couples in the future.

    Dr_Bert_Miller
    Dr_Bert_Miller
    12 years ago

    solution:
    Tomorrow morning we shoot all the get refusers.
    Tomorrow afternoon we shoot all the women who refuse to provide court-ordered visitation.
    problem solved.

    LebidikYankel
    LebidikYankel
    12 years ago

    The problem of a forced Get is avoided by not imprisoning the husband to give a Get, rather he is imprisoned for his bad behavior, however if he should give a Get he is released. So he calls the shots – he decides to give or not give the Get, and we just create a situation that provides an incentive for him to choose to do so…

    haltkup
    haltkup
    12 years ago

    being in jail with an option to leave when you want never works

    bracha18
    bracha18
    12 years ago

    yay!!! good for him!!!! i have sooooooooooooooo many friends who are agunos while their husbands are partying and have no need to give their wife a get……why do they enjoy torturing these women??? and no it is not the wife’s fault….we need more rabbanim to rally or these women and then mashiach will come!!!
    everyone turns a blind eye….gossiping abt seperated or divorced women while they struggle as single moms to raise frum children with no money or support usually!! i see it first hand!!!! its sooooo sad!!!

    B”H- one friend got her get after 4 years- i had chevra lomdei mishna learn 95 days a blat of gemara a day for her….after day 40- he was willing to talk…by day 80 he was ready to give it….several days after day 95- she got her get and geuss what??? she is married…… there is nothing that beats the zchus of Torah learning!!! i am only writing this to be mefarsem a neis that i believe has a direct connection with Torah learning that was done thru the most amazing organization – chevra lomdei mishna…(i hope they wont be upset i posted their name…)

    enough!!!!! let this man rot in prison…just like she is in prison and cant remarry because of his evilness!

    bracha18
    bracha18
    12 years ago

    i have a friend who is waiting a few years…he could not care less….he has what he needs….but she is frum…raising several kids alone…with zero dollars…i went with her to sell her leichter…and i cried the whole time…i imagined i was witnessing a scene from the shtetel in teh alter heim….we are a large frum community…and it is hair raising that she has to worry to put bread on the table literally…(and she is working) no support from yeshiva or anyone…shame shame shame on us!!!!!!!!!!!! i try to give as much i can….but as a klal- we need to do more!!! if not for the women- then for the children of these marriages….dont they deserve what all children get…..normal housing, clothes, toys and food? when i get rich i bli neder BE”H want to start an organization called bnai avinu….for these children….anyone looking for zchusim? look to ur left and to ur right…surely u know a single mom…do something small or big..anything to help…HaShem rewards yesoimim and almanos. these are living yesoimim and almanos. and nobody cares…they care enough just to gossip…it was her fault..his fault….who cares?!! its not ur business! ur business is to help!!

    benny45
    benny45
    12 years ago

    It is absolutely undemocratic and as far as I know unheard of in a democratic country to imprison a person because of his refusal to do a specific thing. Unless of course it is a criminal offense for eg. refusal to testify, but something that he personally refuses to do how can you force him? Unless of course you live In Russia/China to which Israel has become eerily similar lately.

    qazxc
    qazxc
    12 years ago

    Men who can’t keep a woman happy keep her as a prisoner instead.

    Losers.

    12 years ago

    Several of the respondents on this board seem to delight in blaming the agunah spouse of the imprisoned individual. Some implied that she was at fault, in the marriage, and hence, is responsible for her husband’s intransigent attitude. Therefore, I’m curious to know what is the difference between those with such attitudes, and the Taliban in Afghanistan, or those in other Muslim societies who keep women in psychological and physical bondage? The husband is in jail, actually is qvelling at keeping his wife in a perpetual agunah state. There should be a mandatory limit set by the Rabbinical Court in EY, as to how long a husband can deny his wife a get.

    12 years ago

    For every one guy who does something terrible like it seems this guy did,…. there are 10 women who have done equally terrible things to their x husbands which are absolutely comparable.. …. It is a mistake to focus all the attention on the poor girl who wants a get, and not on men who get destroyed by women who are simply abominable.The answer to all these crisis’ shidduch crisis, shalom bayis crisis, and agunah crisis is all one. We have to stop spoiling our daughters, and stop telling them that whatever they do is right. The Rabbis who hear these cases have to stop sucking up to the pretty girls who come with these “horror stories”. They have to analyze the cases and hear both sides of the story. Only then will Moshiach come…Well perhaps then Moshiach will come, he may wait till we stop defrauding the government, and pay our taxes.

    oiber-chacham
    oiber-chacham
    12 years ago

    it is obvious that this piece of human garbage sitting in jail for the last 10 years rather than giving the Get,is mentally insane and there is a good chance that this animal,will decide to sit in jail for the rest of his miserable life rather than release his wife from being an AGUNA,
    There would be a simple solution to this problem,after all we all know there is two ways how a married woman becomes free to remarry,1-by recieving a get,2-by the death of the husband,this criminaly insane rabbid dog must be put out of his misery,and a bullet between the eyes would solve all the problems,and believe me this would be a big MITZVAH,

    Respect
    Respect
    12 years ago

    To the many commenters asking for the “other side of the story” or comparing this to Afgansitan – the Israeli Bati Din did real research. I fully accept that the rabbanim and massive institutions behind this did their research and believe we all must accept this unless we have specific information to determine otherwise. The formalized bet din system in Israel is among the best in the world.

    BrachaDe
    BrachaDe
    12 years ago

    when a man refuses a woman a Get he is quite simply, evil. There is no mutual “story” when you punish people because you feel rejected, disappointed or simply because you are trying to make a point. It is not the Jewish way to mitigate punishment as you see fit. That is H-SHEM’s job and only H-SHEM’s. Giving a get is getting your EGO out of the way and being a good Jew. CHESED. That is all that matters.

    12 years ago

    forget cutting his food in half…remove bathroom privileges. I give him 12 hours max & the creep will give a Get. I know someone that happened to, no matter how low a person is he will be too embarrassed and uncomfortable(this guy was living with 2 shikses when a sofer & a bais din showed up & he wasn’t able to leave the room) After a few hours he gave his poor wife a Get.

    qazxc
    qazxc
    12 years ago

    Maybe this is the real shidduch crisis.

    Girls are so desperate to get married they marry obvious losers who are obviously not suitable for marriage and guys who don’t really want or needed to be married to a woman get married thinking it will straighten them out.