A rabbinical court in Tel Aviv granted a Jewish woman her petition for divorce on Monday after her, now ex-husband finally agreed to grant her a get (A document provided to a wife in front of witnesses in a ceremony that divorces the couple) after six long years.
"It's unacceptable for a woman to find herself in a situation of get refusal even for a minute, let alone 6 years, as I experienced, where nothing helps or makes a difference, and I'm left helpless," S, the newly divorced woman, said upon receiving the get.
S had married her ex 12 years ago and the couple moved to Morocco where they had two daughters.
With the husband’s knowledge and consent, S returned to Israel and her ex returned a short time after. However, 6 years ago, the marriage became unhappy and the husband returned to Morocco - refusing his wife a divorce while doing so.
The struggles of getting a divorce
Adding to S’s struggles, the husband and his father were alleged to have made numerous baseless monetary claims against S which were all dismissed by Israeli courts. Adding to her suffering, he refused a divorce throughout the process.
In 2021, the Rabbinical Court ruled against the husband and obligated him to give a get to his wife. The court sanctioned the man, issued a travel ban and demanded he pay maintenance to his wife. However, the husband continued to refuse S her freedom.
Continuing to pursue a divorce, S. contacted Yad Laisha; which is part of the Ohr Torah Stone network. The network supports victims of get-refusal. A member of the organization, Attorney and Rabbinical Court advocate Tehila Cohen, pursued legal avenues to aid in S’s process.
Cohen had a travel ban issued against the father of S’s ex-husband, who visited Israel 2 years ago. Following this, the father was detained for four months in an attempt to pressure his son to finally grant his wife a divorce. Despite his father’s detainment, the husband continued to refuse.
"In collaboration with the Agunot Department of the Rabbinical Court, headed by Rabbi Maimon and Rabbi Gamliel, we continued to apply various pressure tactics on the husband to promote the get and to release the woman," explains Attorney Tehila Cohen. "His debt to the woman for delayed wife maintenance and child support grew, and we opened enforcement proceedings against him, so that his share in the couple's joint apartment was already at risk. This was in addition to the fact that throughout all six years, he had not seen his daughters."
After 6 long years of legal hurdles, the husband finally agreed to a divorce via Zoom on Monday. This came at the cost of half their Israeli apartment being registered to the daughters of S.
"There were some nerve-wracking moments when an error was found in the get and it had to be written and delivered again, but finally S. was at last set free," recounts Attorney Cohen.
"This is not a reasonable or possible situation from my perspective, for any woman in any situation," said S.
"I thank Attorney Tehila Cohen and Yad La'isha organization for their close accompaniment and for helping me gain my freedom," she concluded.