For the first time in the history of the Chief Rabbinic Court of the State of Israel, its President has authorized the imprisonment of a female get refuser, a woman who refuses to accept a religious divorce from her estranged husband and has thus been preventing him from remarrying for four years.
On Sunday morning, the woman was arrested by Israeli police officers after being apprehended in her own home. The officers were forced to break into the home in order to carry out the arrest.
Prior to the arrest, the Agunot Department (dealing with the issue of 'chained' spouses, those who are unable to remarry owing to their estranged spouses' refusal to grant or accept a religious divorce) had been tracking the woman via a private detective who located her in another location, behaving suspiciously, walking down narrow alleyways and then doubling back, apparently in order to avoid being followed.
Eventually, however, she returned to her home where she locked herself inside. Police summoned to the scene to enforce the Rabbinical Court's ruling ordered her to turn herself in. When she refused to do so, and also reiterated her refusal to accept a divorce document from her husband, they broke into the home and arrested her.
The couple concerned were married in the year 2000 CE. They have two daughters now aged 13 and 16. Around 15 years ago, their marriage began to break down, and in 2018 the husband opened a divorce file with the Rabbinical Court, after the Court had ruled in a prolonged case that custody of the couple's two children should be granted to the father.
According to the Court's account, the wife did not appear at a single hearing either of the Rabbinical Court or the Family Court, obligating the Court to issue an arrest warrant against her so that police should bring her forcibly to court. However, even once in court the woman refused to answer any of the questions put to her. She was then released on bail.
During future hearings the woman did make an appearance but continually refused to accept a get from her husband, insisting that she wanted to go through an official "reconciliation process."
Given the lack of progress, the Court imposed various sanctions on the woman as the years went by - at first mild sanctions and then gradually increasing in severity, including the revocation of her driver's license and the freezing of her bank account - to no avail.
In 2019, in the face of the woman's continued intransigence, the Rabbinical Court handed over the case to the Agunot Department which hired a psychologist to deal directly with the couple over an extended period. These efforts also came to nought and ultimately the psychologist reported back to the Court that the woman refused to cooperate and accept the reality of her failed marriage and would not release her husband to begin a new life. The Court thus ruled that the woman was obligated to accept a get from her husband, but once again the woman refused to appear at Court hearings, leading to another arrest order. She was then placed behind bars and only released after her sister-in-law posted bail for her to the amount of twenty thousand shekels.
The Court then attempted to influence the woman via her workplace, an attempt which failed. The Court also sought the involvement of Welfare services, but the social worker assigned to her case concluded that the woman refused to cooperate.
The Court then asked the Court President, Chief Rabbi David Lau, to issue an arrest warrant against the woman, following yet more protracted hearings and attempts on the part of the Court's judges to persuade the woman to be reasonable. The woman refused to consider any of the Court's suggestions for a resolution and there was therefore no remaining option other than to place her behind bars.
Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan, the Rabbinical Court's director, stated, "The Court has made every effort to avoid using the means at its disposal to force the woman to abide by the Court's rulings. To our great regret, the woman has refused to cooperate and insists on imprisoning her husband within the constraints of marriage to her, a marriage that exists only on paper. Our hope is that in coming days, the woman will realize the error of her ways and accept a get."
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