Israeli citizens were married and then moved to the United States. During their marriage the wife complained of physical and verbal abuse. She decided to leave her husband and their apartment in Florida, moving in with her mother in Florida.
The woman opened a divorce file with a New York beis din but the husband refused to give a get due to a custody battle regarding their daughter. The NY beis din sent the husband seven hazmanos for a number of hearings but he refused to comply.
The wife turned to a beis din in Israel for assistance. The case was given to the agunos unit of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. It was explained to the woman that since the husband is not living in Israel that cannot impose sanctions on him.
Rabbi Eliyahu Maimon of the agunos unit placed the case in the hands of the USA Desk in the agunos unit. The wife was informed to make an attempt to monitor the husband’s travels and to notify the unit if he comes to Israel. In addition, they instructed the wife to contact the Yad L’Isha organization to open a file in the Tel Aviv Beis Din.
About two weeks ago the women telephoned to inform the agunah unit her husband was traveling to Israel. A court order banning him from leaving the country following his arrival was obtained. The Tel Aviv Beis Din summoned the husband, asking him why he regularly ignores hazmanos from the NY beis din. The wife’s attorney presented documentation from the NY beis din showing the husband has ignored hazmanos to date. After a measure of persuasion, the husband agreed to give a get but during the interim, the wife was hospitalized in the USA and she was unable to travel to Israel to accept a get.
The beis din decided on a get ‘shlichus’ in a time-saving measure, fearing as time passes, the husband may change his mind. The beis din turned to FedEx to use its “next day” service to complete the process within 24 hours. However, there were some problems in arriving at Ben-Gurion Airport in time as the get was written in Tel Aviv at 12:15 and the plane was scheduled to depart at 12:30.
FedEx agreed to hold the flight to accommodate the special package. The flight was held for a half hour. The get was in the hand of the wife within 22 hours of being written. Rabbi Maimon thanked FedEx publically for its consideration in such a sensitive case.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
1. The United States Department of State has in the past successfully extricated American citizens being involuntarily held in the State of Israel due to a religious divorce dispute. Israel doesn’t have a legal right to hold Americans living in America on a divorce dispute and the American government has successfully defended such citizens diplomatically.
2. Why is a Florida couple using a NY beis din or an Israeli one? A defendant has the right to insist on a local beis din.
3. A husband has no obligation under halacha to give a Get simply because it was asked of him.
4. The custody dispute is halachicly required to be adjudicated in beis din not in secular court (arkaos). If one spouse invoked secular court that typically will give the other spouse the halachic right to hold off on the Get until the first spouse drops the secular court case and reverses and gains she obtained in it.
5. If pressure was applied to a husband to give a Get he didn’t wish to, the typical result is a “Get Me’usa”, i.e. invalid.
Does this man have normal visitations with his daughter? Was this even discussed at the beis din?
Was FedEx a שליח להולכה or a שליח לקבלה?
Hey doc…you’re obviously a very smart person except for the fact that you can’t read. The first two words are “ISRAELI CITIZENS” so before mouthing off how smart you are and how wrong other people are take a minute to think and take out the point of the story that was meant to get out…that FedEx did something they didn’t have to, to accommodate another yid and for that we all should say thank you!
nice happy ending.
did the airline pilot or delivery man say “b’fanei nechtav u’b’fanai nechtam”?
@,Doc: a little medicine:
If the recalcitrant “husband” would cease and desist from being a donkey, then the American government would not have to “defend such citizens diplomatically.”
#2 “Why use NY or Israel Beis Din?” Gee, ya think she’s had any positive results in Florida? Might as well increase her chances of getting results and once again, if the donkey would stop holding back from issuing a get, she would not have to resort to this.
#3 ..”husband has no right.to give get…”
Ok, sure, but in my world it’s call decency and it’s a part of being a decent Jew
#4: Really? Must we go here.I guess so: If one does not give one’s spouse a get then the other spouse pays the price for being indecent by being forced to show up in secular court.
In other words, if you want to be a jerk be prepared to pay the price..
#5. Ok, refer back to #1- 4
FedEx is neither a
שליח להולכה nor a שליח לקבלה
It is whats referred to by the gemoro as מעשה קוף בעלמא
ddayleah:
1. An American citizen isn’t obligated under either American or Jewish Law to give a Get simply because it is wanted.
2. Or one may have chosen a “custom beit din” to do their bidding. Also a frequent occurrence.
3. If a spouse wishes to continue the marriage that is his or her right under Jewish Law, under default circumstances, and the decent thing of the other spouse would be to be amenable to continue the commitment they made under the chuppa.
4. If a spouse, in contrary to Jewish Law, utilizes non-Jewish courts, he/she should not be surprised if their spouse declines to give or accept a Get until the secular court is cancelled and any awards or gains the non-Jewish court awarded are reversed.
5. Jewish Law stipulated a Get given involuntarily is invalid.