Israel’s Chief Rabbinate of Israel batei din have the authority to send a recalcitrant husband to jail for refusing to give a bill of divorce. This being the case, there are some who prefer to remain in jail rather than giving a divorce and because of the law, they benefit from education in prison and for some, they are even placed in a Torah wing which is far less severe as well as receiving additional benefits.

The Knesset Ministerial Law Committee on Monday 7 Sivan expressed support for an initiative from MK (Bayit Yehudi) Shuli Muallem and the Emunah organization seeking to encourage recalcitrant husbands to release their wives, the agunos. The bill would revoke many of the privileges given to prisoners who maintain a religious lifestyle including being placed in the Torah wing, limud Torah, and having seforim in prison. Such a prisoner would be banned from attending shiurim, and using seforim. He would also be prohibited from receiving mehadrin food.

The initiative is based on recommendations from batei din which are seeking to compel the recalcitrant husbands to give a ‘get’. The batei din want them stripped of benefits until a ‘get’ is given and they can be released.

Attorney Batya Kahana-Dror of the Mevo Satum organization explains while the bill is welcome, it will only be effective if and when a beis din sends a recalcitrant husband to jail and this does not happen often. She points out one such recent case is Dr. Oded Gaz. Kahana-Dror explains the beis din did not wish to send him to prison, opting to ‘shame’ him instead and now he has vanished and his wife remains an agunah. She feels what is needed most of all is that the batei din send all of the recalcitrant husbands to jail.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)