Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Dovid Lau Shlita addressed the Israel Bar Association Conference in Eilat on Tuesday 26 Menachem Av, preferring to speak about the need for better synchronization between the nation’s secular family courts and batei din.

Rabbi Lau explained the dire shortage of manpower and resources is common to both court systems, admitting this results in the courts and batei din being severely overloaded and this harms the public at large.

Rabbi Lau believes steps must be taken towards “improved synchronization” between the two systems since the current lack of communications between the family courts and batei din leads to absurd situations, citing a recent case in which a recalcitrant husband managed to flee the country after a beis din took steps against him while the family court entertained a request he filed to meet with his children. The latter was not aware of the status of the case in the beit din. As a result, the family court did not discuss the husband fleeing and did not insist that he return to Israel and not leave his wife as an agunah.

Rabbi Lau expects the family courts to cooperate with batei din in all cases towards preventing women being left as agunos.

Among those present during the rabbi’s address were Supreme Court President Miriam Naor, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, Attorney General Dr. Avichai Mandelblit, State Comptroller Yosef Shapira and head of the Israel Bar Association Effie Naveh.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)