A report appearing in the weekend edition of Makor Rishon documents how Israel’s Bedouins have found a loophole in the system that permits them to cash in from Bituach Leumi big time.

Yehuda Yifrach reports Bedouins ‘get divorced’ in an Islamic court and a husband is ordered to pay child support to the tune of 100 NIS monthly, usually for families with six or more children. The newly divorced single Bedouin mom then turns to Israel’s Bituach Leumi showing the court ruling that includes a 100 NIS monthly child support decision. Realizing she cannot exist on the meagerly sum, Bituach Leumi dutifully adds up to 3,000 NIS monthly.

Wait, it gets better. The father remarries and does this again with a second, third even fourth wife, permitted under Muslim Law. Each of the divorced wives turns to Bituach Leumi for supplementary income, and of course, the Israeli system pays. The report explains that this has become an industry in the Bedouin community as the State of Israel funds the community’s children while the father continues divorcing and marrying to his polygamous content.

Yifrach explains that the man goes to the Islamic court and gets a ‘small divorce’ and according to Sharia/Muslim Law, he may continue having relations with this previous wife and take another. It explains the husband tells his wife “you are divorced” one time, and this permits the religious court to issue the bill of divorce for Bituach Leumi, but in essence, they are still husband and wife. To actually be divorced he must say “you are divorced” three times.

The Islamic courts are official – recognized by the State of Israel, operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Justice. They were established during the Ottoman Empire and during the British Mandate period, they were permitted to continue but their authority was restricted to the Islamic community. The courts were operating under the Ministry of Religious Services until being moved to the Justice Ministry in 2001. Perhaps not surprising to many, while the nation’s rabbinical courts and even the secular courts are constantly under media scrutiny, the Islamic court system operates with total impunity from outside interference and monitoring. The court’s rulings are legal and binding in Israel.

While polygamy is illegal in Israel, it is ignored in the Bedouin community. According to data amassed by Knesset, this represents 36% of the marriages in the Bedouin community. Israel Police reports only four polygamy cases have been opened since 2004, and this includes the Bedouin community.

The marriages are an important step in legitimizing claims for financial assistance from the government as in many cases the Bedouin men marries women from the PA (Palestinian Authority) or Jordan. These women can only receive Israeli government assistance unless they marry an Israeli citizen, and they will continue to receive Israeli funding following the ‘divorce’ since their children are recognized as Israeli.

Bituach Leumi does not seek to investigate if the couples are truly divorced and the agency simply processes the Islamic court’s document and issues a ruling to give a single mother monthly assistance. No one has questioned why a father of 6, 7 or more children is only compelled to pay 100 NIS monthly for all of the children combined when an Israeli family court will generally seek to compel a father to pay 1,200 NIS per month per child. Such a bizarre ruling from a Rabbanut Beis Din would be appealed in a family or other court, yet the Islamic court seems to go about business as usual as state officials dare not interfere in Islamic life.

If a Bedouin truly wishes to divorce her husband she does not turn to the Islamic court but turns to the family court for there, she will receive a real verdict compelling the father of the children to support them. The Islamic courts are simply issuing divorce documents to extort money from the state, and it appears the scam is quite successful, not to mention profitable. According to Yifrach’s research, “we are taking about million of NIS monthly”.

Going back about a decade, when monthly child allowance payments were significantly larger than today, those payments represented a primary income for Bedouin families. When that was cut they had to seek another entry into the Israeli system and it appears they were most successful. It is noteworthy to point out that when the faucet was turned off a decade ago, the birthrate in that community dropped from 9.7 to 5.5 children to the average Bedouin mother, showing just how the lack of funding had a direct impact.

Attorney Reuyah Abu-Aeviya is concerned for the welfare of the Bedouin women who are suffering as a result but it appears in Israel, this is not on the radar. The government continues paying and no one dares say a word. She feels the money being paid is not sufficient to explain the continuing rise in polygamy in that community, with the alarming trend leaving the women to fend for themselves. She wants to understand why the state law-enforcement agencies continue to ignore the widespread law-breaking in this sector.

The Knesset has been presented with alarming studies and factual data documenting the seriousness of the situation, but to date, no one feels compelled to act.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)