Rabbinical court prevents a divorce desired by both husband and wife
Divorce denied in Israel due to prenuptial agreement
A terrible example of the danger to the Israeli public that stems from the monopoly of the rabbinical courts on marriage and divorce in Israel swept through the media just recently with the publication of a ruling by the Rabbinical Court in Petah Tikva in a divorce case.
20/06/2019 22:25
Tags: divorce · rabbinical courts · halachic prenuptial agreement
A rabbinical court from the early twentieth century, source: Wikipedia
Recently, the Israeli public has received a number of strong reminders of the need for freedom from the Chief Rabbinate and rabbinical courts, in the spirit of the Vision for a Jewish and democratic state that we share with individuals and organizations of all political streams and religious approaches. It is important that supporters of Israel in the Diaspora be aware of this and partner in the essential effort to bring about this change.
We’ve written about Minister Smotrich making a public statement regarding his desire to serve as Justice Minister in order to "restore Torah law." Today he repeated this in an interview and made it clear that despite the storm that followed his remarks, he does not regret it at all, and he sees the need to present this position in response to the Gay Pride Parade. Smotrich’s partner, Minister of Education Rabbi Peretz, announced this week that he would work to ensure that maintenance work for public services will be possible on Shabbat only if the Chief Rabbinate rules that such maintenance might be life-saving.
Yet another example of the danger to the Israeli public that stems from the monopoly of the rabbinical courts on marriage and divorce in Israel swept through the media just recently with the publication of a ruling by the Rabbinical Court in Petah Tikva in a divorce case.
The couple married about 10 years ago, and when they married they signed a prenuptial agreement that was designed to ensure that if their marriage did not succeed and one of them were to seek divorce - the other spouse would not prevent it. The contract stipulated that should one spouse not cooperate and attempt to prevent the divorce in the Rabbinical Court [the only court authorized to divorce Jews in Israel], that spouse would be obligated to pay the other alimony at a high rate every month as long as (s)he refuses.
the parties decided to divorce and turned to the court to arrange the divorce, while making it clear that their decision is mutual and of free will, not for fear of the agreed upon sanctions between them in the prenuptial agreement.
Recently, the parties decided to divorce and turned to the court to arrange the divorce, while making it clear that their decision is mutual and of free will, not for fear of the agreed upon sanctions between them in the prenuptial agreement.
The background on this religious issue is known. It is related to the fact that many, especially women, suffer in the process of divorcing due to the approach of the rabbinical courts, which do not recognize the principle of gender equality and put the right to initiate a divorce in husband's hands. They are known to pressure women to submit to economic and other demands presented by husbands in return for their consent to divorce.
The rabbinical courts are afraid to impose a get on recalcitrant husbands because of increasing religious extremism, and sometimes these cases drag on for many years to the detriment of the women who cannot free themselves from unwanted marriages and continue their lives. A blatant example of this terrible policy was recently reported upon in the Times of Israel, available at this LINK.
In the present ruling, despite the fact that the couple applied jointly for the divorce, the court refused to grant their request, ruling that the very fact that they have a prenuptial agreement establishing equal rights between the spouses in the event of a divorce refusal is reason to prevent said divorce until these clauses are not canceled. The rabbinical court ruled that although the couple declared free will, the fear is that the husband is divorcing his wife due to the duress of economic sanctions, and therefore it the divorce document would be illegitimate.
A review of the ruling reveals that the rabbinical court detailed the various opinions and contradictions that exist among the halakhic authorities, but the court ultimately ruled according to the most stringent religious approaches and refused to arrange the divorce sought by the couple. However, beyond this, the court’s ruling stated that this should serve as a warning to the public against prenuptial agreements including clauses intended to prevent one spouse from denying the other a divorce… for these would constitute impediments to religious divorce. It must be emphasized that this contravenes the prenuptial agreements formulated by Orthodox women's organizations and other Orthodox organizations intended to combat the problem of women being denied divorces in Israel and abroad.
This only the most recent reminder that Israel must free itself from the tyranny of the rabbinical courts and the Chief Rabbinate. When will enough be enough?