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Jerusalem Rabbinical Court rules husband still married but wife not

Recalcitrant husband held in contempt, ordered to give wife a second bill of divorce after he cast doubt on the first’s validity — but wife remains free to remarry.

By David Hellerman, World Israel News

The Jerusalem Rabbinic Court handed down an unusual ruling that a recalcitrant husband who recently divorced his wife was now considered married while his wife was considered divorced.

The ruling was in response to statements made by the husband claiming the divorce he had given his wife was not valid.

According to Hebrew reports, the couple, whose name was not released, married in 2006. In 2017, the woman filed for divorce at the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court, but the husband refused to give his wife a get, or a bill of divorce.

In Jewish law, a wife whose husband refuses to give a bill of divorce has the unfortunate status of an agunah, or “chained.” An agunah can only obtain her freedom to remarry with a get or the death of her husband. Some men have refused to give their wives a get, either out of spite or in the hope of extorting a more favorable divorce settlement.

In 2019, Ohr Torah Stone’s Yad La’isha Legal Aid Center, which was representing the wife, obtained a ruling from the Rabbinical Court compelling the husband to issue the get or face a series of escalating social sanctions. The husband ignored that as well as a follow-up ruling which ordered Israeli homeowners not to rent him an apartment until the divorce was given.

Eventually facing the prospect prison, the man relented and gave his wife her long-sought divorce.

Last week, the husband was summoned back to the Rabbinical Court after judges learned he had made comments casting doubt on the validity of the divorce. The man told the judges he had not said certain necessary words to his wife during the ceremony of handing her the get.

The judges made a precedent-setting ruling: The woman’s divorce was valid and she remains free to remarry. However, for disparaging the validity of the divorce, the husband is still considered married until he gives his wife a second bill of divorce called a get l’chumrah. He will also remain on a blacklist of recalcitrant husbands.

The judges also also ruled the husband in contempt of court and sentenced him to seven days in prison. However, the judges said they would cancel the imprisonment if the husband gives his wife a second get.

Groups advocating for the rights of agunot applauded the Rabbinical Court’s ruling.

“This is a remarkable example of how rabbinical judges should aspire to act, and a model to which the Committee for the Appointment of Rabbinical Court Judges should set before them when installing the next round of judges: people of courage who do are not afraid to bravely liberate agunot,” said Pnina Omer, Director of Yad La’isha.

The number of agunot in Israel is not known, but Yad La’isha estimates that there are around 2,400 new cases each year.