The Chief Rabbinate Council ruled today (Thursday) in a precedential decision that in the case of difficult cases, the burial of the relatives of a divorce refuser in the grave of Israel must be prevented, until he grants the divorce.
The decision was made as part of the discussions in a difficult anchoring case that has been going on for over 18 years, centered on a couple of US residents.
During nearly two decades, the husband refuses to set his wife H free, while he married another woman in 2014, after he succeeded in obtaining a judgment in the state of California to annul the civil marriage of the two, without being obliged to also grant a religious divorce.
H. appealed many times to the rabbinic courts in the USA, but the husband refused to grant the divorce and did not even appear for the hearings, while he, as mentioned, continued with his life. As part of her fight for her freedom, last August, H. filed through attorney Daniel Schwartz and D. Avraham ben Zvi, a request to the Chief Rabbinate to order that as long as the divorce is not granted, the transfer of the body and burial in the Tomb of Israel of the husband and his relatives, including his father who is on his deathbed, who are helping him anchor H. This is based on a ruling by the Rabbinical Committee in California , regarding which it was determined in an opinion given by a special panel of the Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem, that it should be enforced and that burial should be prevented in cemeteries in Israel as well.
Offices of the Chief Rabbinate (archive) // Photo: Dodi Vaaknin,
Despite the above, the Rabbinical Council did not act on the matter, and the lawyers Schwartz and Ben Zvi filed a petition on behalf of H. to the Supreme Court to order the Council, the Ministry of Religious Services and the authorities in Israel responsible for the transfer of the bodies and burial of foreign residents in cemeteries in Israel, to act on the matter. In a petition last July, the Supreme Court ordered the Chief Rabbinate Council to hold a hearing and formulate its position on the matter.
This week the Rabbinical Council held a discussion on the issue, and decided to adopt Chief Rabbi Lau's position on the issue and to state that in the case of severe anchorage, the burial of the family members of the divorce refuser must be prevented.
The decision to prevent burial should be made by a rabbinical court in Israel or alternatively by a court from abroad whose decisions are recognized by the Chief Rabbinate.
"I am happy and grateful to the Chief Rabbinate for this decision," H said excitedly upon receiving the decision, "It is a miracle from heaven, which shows me that I am not alone and that all of Israel stands with me. I hope that the decision will bring about the one who has anchored me for almost two decades to give me a divorce, Even if only for the purpose of honoring his father and his family members, and exempting them from the consequences arising from the decision. I also have hope for the future that the decision will open doors to further persecutions and lead to salvation for the children of Israel."
Writing a divorce at the Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem.
Illustration, photography: Dodi Vakanin
"We congratulate the members of the Rabbinical Council on the important decision, which advances with another important step H's fight for her freedom as well as the ongoing struggle against the phenomenon of coercion and the refusal of divorce in general," says the Yad Laishah organization from the Or Torah Stone network, which represents Agunot and refused a divorce and joined the petition as a friend of the court.
"Refusal to get a divorce is not fate, and within the framework of the Halacha there are means and solutions to combat this phenomenon, with the help of courageous and broad-shouldered judges and rabbis who will use them, as we see in the decision given today that states in a way that does not imply two sides - we will not allow the refusers of the get and their relatives to harm their freedom and dignity of women".
"We are very happy and welcome the decision of the Rabbinical Council, which, after serious and intense discussions, decided to stand by Agona's side, who has been waiting to receive Gita for nearly twenty years," says attorney Daniel Schwartz. who support and assist them, according to which their decisions and actions will have serious consequences and that they will bear responsibility for them.
We hope that this decision will finally convince the anchored husband to take the right step, and divorce his wife according to the religion of Moses and Israel."
"The Chief Rabbinate today sends a clear message in her decision, that the Jewish state will not continue to be a place of refuge for depraved Jewish husbands, who exploit the halacha and the institutions of the Jewish state in the most cynical way, in order to escape from halachic, social and community sanctions, and continue to abuse their wives instead of emancipation them from their mooring chains" adds attorney Avraham ben Zvi.
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